Missions
by Loyce
Summary: How far will one man go to exact his revenge on the person he hates the most? And what prices will have to be paid in order to stop him? UPDATED!! Chapter 14: Prelude to a Final Battle
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.  
  
  
  
"History is much like an Endless Waltz.  
The three beats of War, Peace and Revolution continue on forever."  
--Mariemaia Khushrenada  
  
The year is AC 200. The constant battle to maintain peace throughout the Earth Sphere Unified Nation (ESUN) has heated up in the past couple of months. The hardest thing about peace is not gaining it, but maintaining it. For lurking around in the shadows, someone is always waiting for the right moment to steal it away . . .   
  
  
A/N: Okay everybody; I hope you are ready for a roller coaster ride. ^_^ This is a story that I have been working on since I started posting my work on ff.net. I hope you all enjoy it. Please send me your reviews, that way I know whether or not to continue with the story and how I can make it better.  
  
Here are some quick references to help you through the story:  
' ' Thought  
" " Spoken word  
  
  
  
  



	2. The Death of a Legend

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
A chill ran up her spine as she began to stir from her sleep. Something didn't seem quite right; she felt somewhat out of place. A constant stinging sensation below her right eye brought her fully awake. She tried to reach up and inspect her face, but she couldn't. As she opened her eyes slowly, she came to the realization that she was no longer at home.   
  
Worn leather restraints held her wrists and legs tightly against the bed. Her pale pink two-piece pajama set was tattered and dirty. And she was covered with dried blood.  
  
Relena's eyes widened as she saw the blood. Straining, she turned her head, looking for any clue to where she was presently located. A bright light overhead of the bed cast shadows throughout the rest of the room. But through the shadows, she could make out the shape of a door and what seemed to be a two-way mirror. The room was unusually cold, causing her fingertips to turn blue. She lay on the bed, shivering, watching her breath rise above her. The only other sound in the room besides her breathing was the constant 'beep' of medical equipment.  
  
"But that still does not answer the question, where in the world I am?" Relena softly sighed.  
"You are no longer on the world, Ms. Peacecraft." A feminine voice broke the silence.  
"Then just exactly where am I?"  
"You will find out soon enough," the woman answered.  
"What do you want with me?"   
  
A masculine voice answered with amusement, "Aren't you an inquisitive person, Ms. Peacecraft? As my colleague already said, you will find all the answers to your questions soon enough."  
  
Relena turned a defiant look toward the location of the voices, "I don't plan on staying here very long since my friends will be here to pick me up soon."  
  
The smile in the man's voice was evident as he said, "You may be waiting longer than you think, Ms. Peacecraft. We have insured that your friends will not be looking for you. That should give us enough time before we are ready to let you go."  
  
A puzzled look crossed Relena's face, "I don't understand . . ."  
  
A hand shot out from the shadows, grabbing a hold of her arm holding it taunt as another pair of hands came at her arm with a needle full of blue liquid.  
  
"Now, Ms. Peacecraft, it is not your place to understand. Please try to relax and let us take care of everything." The needle was then rammed into her arm, the plunger pushed, filling her blood stream with the unknown liquid.  
  
"Heero, help me." She softly cried.  
As the darkness began to quickly close in on her, she could hear the retreating sound of laughter.  
  
***************  
  
"DUO, go answer the door! The money for the pizza is sitting on the table." Hilde called from the bedroom.  
  
Sighing loudly, Duo pushed himself away from the couch, away from the last play of the football game he had been watching. The doorbell rang out again as he flung the door open.  
  
"Okay already. Here's your money, thanks for making an appearance during the biggest play of the game." Duo grumbled as he grabbed the pizzas, slammed the door and headed back to the couch.  
  
Hilde's voice came from the bedroom again. "Duo Maxwell, don't you dare start eating without me or you will live to regret it!"  
  
With pizza poised at his mouth, he turned his gaze toward the direction of the bedroom and dropped the slice back into the box. 'The woman must have eyes in the back of her head.' He thought to himself. Focusing back to the game, Duo settled in to watch his favorite team kick the winning field goal.   
  
The announcer called the play, "Williams has hit 38 out of 40 field goal attempts this season. This one would win the game. Here's the snap, the ball is in place, and Williams connects. The kick is . . ."  
  
"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this important news bulletin."  
  
"Aw, man! This better be some VERY important, or the TV station will be hearing from me tomorrow." Duo muttered.  
  
A nicely dressed young news anchor sat behind the desk. His complexion a pale green, he looked like he was going to be sick.  
  
"Vice Foreign Minister Relena Darlian, formerly Queen Relena Peacecraft, was found murdered in her family home in the Sanc Kingdom earlier this morning. Shortly after 8:00 a.m., authorities were called to the Peacecraft mansion . . ."  
  
The news anchor's voice was drowned out by the roaring sound in Duo's head. Cobalt eyes stared transfixed on the TV as past pictures of Relena played across the screen. "I can't be true. It just can't be true!" he said as he placed is head in his hands.  
  
As Hilde walked into the living room, she noticed Duo was sitting on the couch. His head shaking back and forth in his hands, he kept saying something over and over again. "Duo, what's wrong? What couldn't be true?"  
  
Duo turned his face up toward her, silent tears falling down his cheeks. In a voice barely above a whisper he said, "She's dead, Hilde. Relena is dead."  
  
****************  
  
The mood at the Winner mansion went from sweet to sour in a matter of minutes. Quatre's family had been throwing one of the biggest affairs in Winner history when Rashid had literally run up to Quatre and drag him to the library. The news report had ended minutes ago but Quatre hadn't noticed. He was in shock, his eyes glazed over with tears. His heart had just been shattered into a million pieces.  
  
Relena Peacecraft was dead. His symbol of hope, goodness and love was gone. Relena had done so much for the Earth Sphere Unified Nation, for peace, for the Gundam Pilots. Though they had been soldiers, she had been the one protecting the Gundam Pilots from the rest of the world.   
  
Turning to Rashid, Quatre said, "Inform my mother of the recent death of Relena Peacecraft. Then make arrangements. We are going to Earth to say good-bye to a good friend."  
  
Rashid nodded and headed out of the library. Once Quatre heard the sound of the door catch, he laid his head down on the desk and wept.  
  
****************  
  
Being a Preventer meant being privy to some important information, But Chang Wufei would never forget the morning that he heard about the death of Relena Peacecraft come across the police radio.   
  
Night was already beginning to close the chapter of her murder. He had not moved from behind his desk since he had heard the news. Too many memories had been stirred up today and more would be brought to the surface in the days to come.  
  
He would always remember her for her strength. Not her physical strength, but her emotional and mental strength. Wufei believed she was a lot stronger than most soldiers and Preventers he knew. Sighing, he pushed away from his desk and headed for the door. The moon cast an eerie light throughout his office once he had switched off the light. 'Seems to fit with the type of day it has been.' He thought to himself.  
  
As he closed the door, Wufei realized that not only did the fight for peace loose a key player, but he had also lost a friend.  
  
****************  
  
Trowa opened the suitcase as Catherine began pulling clothes from the dresser in their trailer. Concern was etched across Catherine's face as she watched Trowa. He was normally a quiet, reserved person, but now he was just too quiet. The kind of quiet you experience right before a storm.   
  
They had been practicing their act for the circus when the news came across a radio. After the reporter had finished reading his press release, Trowa calmly put down the props and strode out of the big top and toward the trailer. She had followed him, noticing the way he kept clenching and unclenching his fists.  
  
He had remained calm, but she wondered how much longer the calm would last. Not saying a word, Catherine continued to pack as Trowa turned away from her and walked out the trailer. Seconds later, she heard the sound of a fist hitting the side of the metal trailer, over and over again.  
  
****************  
  
The TV was completely destroyed. Everything had been overturned, thrown, torn or beaten. His normally Spartan-like apartment was in shambles. Splintered wood showered all the things on the floor. Broken glass sparkled as the overhead light swayed back and forth from its wiring.   
  
Exhausted physically and distressed emotionally, Heero Yuy stood out on the balcony of his apartment. The moon overhead cast its light down on an unusually silent city. The night breeze blew his hair into his face, trying to hide his tears from the world. Clasped in his hands, Heero held the bear that he had given Relena for her birthday five years earlier. She had given it back to him almost a year ago, saying that she wanted him to have something that he would remember her by. Like he could ever really forget her, she was his life.   
  
He hadn't believed the news reports, so he had called Zechs Marquise (Milliardo Peacecraft). Zechs had barely been able to tell him that Relena had been late to breakfast, so he went up to check on her. When there was no answer to his knocks, he opened the door and found his sister surrounded in blood, political papers and broken furniture and her face had been smashed beyond recognition. Heero had hung up the phone before Zechs could finish the story and tore his place apart.  
  
He felt so alone. He had never felt that way when Relena was alive. And now she was gone: forever. His grip tightened on the bear as he began to cry once again.  
  
"Relena . . ." He sobbed as he buried his face into the bear's soft fur that still carried her scent.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Farewell, Relena

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.   
  
Chapter 2   
  
It rained the day of her funeral. It seemed appropriate, for the world had lost its princess.   
  
The old church was covered with moss; flowers bloomed in the window boxes. Inside, the stained glass windows rained color into the small chapel. The pews groaned under the weight of the numerous people that now filled them. Dressed in black, the people had come from the Earth, Colonies and other Planets. All to pay their respects for the fallen princess.   
  
In one of the front pews sat five young men. Only a few knew their names, and their real reason for being in the front pew. Their faces were expressionless as they surveyed the scene around them. On the outside, they had appeared calm. But on the inside, each one was dealing with a mess of jumbled emotions and their own grief.   
  
A closed white casket, adorned with golden trim, sat on the altar surrounded by pink roses. Candles provided the only light in the church. And it seemed all the light in the church was focused on the casket at the front of the chapel.   
  
The silence dragged on until Zechs stepped up to the altar and turned to face everyone. His white-blond hair had been pulled back from his face and secured in a ponytail. Standing up there in his black suit, Zechs seemed to exude confidence; little did the congregation know that he was shaking on the inside.   
  
"Relena Peacecraft was many things in her young life. Yes, she was a princess. But more importantly than that, she was a leader, a sister and a friend. At 15, she strove for peace while most teenagers are worried about fewer meaningful things. At 20, she had begun to help the ESUN finally achieve peace. She accomplished more in her lifetime then most of us in this room ever will. Relena knew the struggles she faced trying to bring peace into this world, but she never shied from her beliefs. She was beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside. The world has lost one of its brightest stars. I have lost a sister and a friend."   
  
Tears slid down his cheeks as he finished the short speech he had prepared in his sister's memory. Noin stood up from her seat and walked to her husband, welcoming him into her arms. Slowly, the two of them walked to the casket, said their farewells, then turned and walked down the aisle and outside. The mass of mourners followed their example, saying their good-byes and then going outside to offer their condolences to Zechs and Noin.   
  
After the mourner had left the small church, the ushers moved forward to carry out the casket to the family burial plot. The five Gundam Pilots carried the casket like it was the greatest treasure on Earth. Zechs, Noin, Catherine, Hilde, Sally Po and Lady Une joined the pilots at the burial site. Once the casket was in place, Zechs threw his handful of dirt into the grave. "Ashes to Ashes." He softly whispered. After that, everyone turned away and headed back to the church.   
  
Everyone but Heero.   
  
The rain had turned to mist and the sun was pushing through the clouds creating a rainbow in the sky. Lifting a single pink rose to his lips, he gently kissed it and tossed it into her grave.   
  
"Relena, I will find out who did this to you and they will pay. I promise you. I will love you forever." With that said, Heero turned away and strode toward the others.   
  
***************   
  
"Heero . . ." Relena whispered weakly. It was becoming harder and harder to fight the drugs they kept pumping into her body. Saying his name gave her some strength, but she didn't know how much longer she could fight. The constant beeping of the machines around her was hypnotic. Closing her eyes, she listened to the rhythmic beeps until they lulled her to sleep.   
  
From the other side of the glass, two people sat, sipping brandy and watching the progress of their work.   
  
"She is still fighting the drug. Who would have known that she could be this stubborn?"   
  
"I have known she would be difficult. I have been watching her, trying to find a way to destroy him and everything he holds dear, including her. So far my plan has worked out perfectly. Hopefully, we will be able to complete the second part. How much longer do you think it will take?"   
  
"Well, her resistance is wearing down thanks to the drugs. Once she stops fighting, she will be easy to control and train. If she is a quick study, we could release her early to complete her mission."   
"Will she be able to complete her mission, given her past history?"   
  
Turning to the window, the two people watched as Relena Peacecraft sighed in her sleep.   
  
"Hopefully in a couple of days, we can begin our training. She will retain pertinent information, such as names, and other things we deem necessary. So to answer your question: will she be able to carry out her mission? My answer is Without Hesitation."   
  
A voice filled with amusement answered back, "Excellent." 


	4. A Stunning Revelation

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.  
  
Chapter 3  
  
8 months later . . .  
  
Zechs sat behind the Tudor style desk in his study. Numerous papers, stacked into neat piles flanked him on either side. He felt like he was fighting a never-ending war with the paperwork. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't concentrate on his work. Hell, he couldn't eat or sleep either. Every time he closed his eyes, or had a spare minute, he would think back to the day he found his sister dead.  
  
It had been 8 months since they had buried her, but the ghosts of that morning still walked the halls of the mansion.   
  
Since Relena's death, he and Noin had tried to continue her fight for peace. Zechs had a greater appreciation for his sister now than he had before. He and Noin had a hard enough time with the two of them. 'How had she been able to handle all of this by herself?' In disgust, he threw down his pen and pushed away from the desk. Striding to the window, Zechs looked out on the gardens.   
  
Even now, he could have sworn that he could see Relena in the garden. The garden was her safe place, her little hid away. She would crouch down in the dirt, a big floppy straw hat shielding her face from the afternoon sun. Every afternoon, she would sneak outside and lose herself in the roses. Humming softly, she would prune and collect the pink blooms. Zechs would always watch her from the window in his study wondering if she would ever be able to have a simple life. He wouldn't have to wonder any more.  
  
Noin had entered the room and saw Zechs standing at the window. Even now, he couldn't go through a day and not look out on the gardens, looking for her. Clearing her throat to get his attention, Noin started toward him. Zechs never moved from the window, so she joined him there.  
  
"Zechs, enough is enough. You have been pushing yourself too hard for far too long. You need a break, we need a break. Quatre has invited us to join him on L4 for the weekend. Zechs, if I were you, I would accept the invitation." Gently she placed a kiss on his cheek and turned and left the room.  
  
Zechs watched her leave the room, but turned back to the window when he thought he heard someone humming. But of course, no one was there. 'Maybe I do need a break.' He considered as he ran his hand through his hair. Walking away from the window, Zechs decided to head upstairs and pack his bag.  
  
****************  
  
Sally Po sat in her office at Preventers Headquarters, finishing up her last report before heading home for the weekend. Stretching her arms over her head, she tried to work all the kinks out of her neck, when the intercom rang.  
  
"Ms. Po?"  
"Yes?"  
"Dr. Ramirez is here to see you. He said that it is important."  
  
Sally was puzzled by the doctor's sudden arrival and what news the forensic scientist could be bringing her. "Show him in, Dorothy."  
  
The door to her office opened quickly and was slammed shut. Stunned by the doctor's abnormal behavior, Sally asked, "So, what is this all about Nick?"  
  
"Sally, pardon the intrusion. I realize that it is a Friday and almost the end of the day, but what I'm about to tell you could not wait over the weekend."  
Laying her hands on the desk, she answered, "Okay Nick, I'm all ears."  
"You remember the Peacecraft murder?"  
"How could I forget it, Nick. Relena Peacecraft was a friend of mine, why do you ask?"  
  
Nick handed her a file marked CONFIDENTIAL. Taking a deep breath, Nick began his explanation. "The police work was shoddy. No murder weapon was ever found. No suspects were ever named. Sure, plenty of people had a motive, but everyone had viable alibis for the night of the murder."   
  
Pausing, he focused his gaze on Sally as he continued to pace. "A suspect always leaves a part of himself behind at a crime scene, whether he is aware of it or not. Whoever did this was good, since nothing could be found. He or she must have read up on forensic science. Something didn't seem right to me, so I called in some favors and got copies of everything: pictures of the crime scene, blood, evidence, autopsy reports...etc. And well . . .read for yourself." Nick stopped pacing the office and sat down in the chair across from Sally.   
  
Sally opened the folder and began to slowly scan each document contained inside. About 20 minutes later, Sally turned her head up to look into Nick's face. Her eyes wide, her face pale.  
  
"Nick, are you positively sure about this?!"  
  
Nick Ramirez stood up and faced Sally. "100% positive, I've had other scientists look over the information, exempt all mentions of Ms. Peacecraft, and they all supported my findings."  
  
Sally rose from her chair behind the desk and extended her hand toward the doctor. "Thank you, Nick."  
  
"You are welcome, Sally." Nick said after he shook her hand and walked out of the office.  
  
As soon as Sally heard the door to the outside office close, she picked up the phone and began to make some calls.  
  
****************  
  
"Sally? What? Slow down, and tell me again. No, we're getting ready to leave. L4, why do you ask? The shuttle leaves in about 2 hours. Okay, we'll see you soon." Zechs turned a puzzled look to the phone and hung it up.  
  
"What was Sally so worked up over, Zechs?" Noin asked as she watched her husband pace back and forth in the library.  
  
"Sally wouldn't tell me over the phone. I told her that we were getting ready to leave for L4. She told me not to leave and she would be here as soon as possible."   
  
'I wonder what is so important. Could it be another mission? I hope not, he doesn't need that now.' Noin thought to herself. She had finally been able to get Zechs to walk away from his work and take a break. Surely, Sally understood the importance in getting him away from the Sanc Kingdom.  
  
As if on cue, Pagan opened the library doors and announced Sally. Sally strode into the library, looking distressed. Her usually cool demeanor had been replaced by agitation.   
  
"Good, you are both here. I'm sorry to keep you from your trip, but this IS important."  
"Sally . . ." Zechs began.  
Sally interrupted. "Zechs, you may want to sit down with Noin." The tone of Sally's voice told him that he needed to do what she asked, for her sake if not for his.   
  
"Earlier today, Dr. Nick Ramirez, a well-known forensic scientist came into my office. Dr. Ramirez has worked with the Preventers before doing psychological profiling of serial killers. Anyway, calling in some favors, he obtained a copy of the reports done about Relena's murder. Something about the murder bothered him, so on his own, he reviewed all the details of that morning, the police reports, autopsy reports . . ."  
  
"Sally, please just get to the point." Zechs interrupted. Talking about Relena's death was upsetting him and he just wanted to get it over with.  
  
Handing Zechs the CONFIDENTIAL file she had received from Dr. Ramirez, Sally looked him straight in the eye and said, "It was a set-up, Zechs. The young woman we buried 8 months ago was NOT Relena Peacecraft. Your sister may still be alive."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. Mission Accepted

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.  
  
Chapter 4  
  
For two days, Zechs, Noin, Sally and Lady Une carefully read every report contained in the file provided by Dr. Nick Ramirez. Zechs was determined to find out everything he could, and therefore pushed them all to finish as quickly as possible. In the past two days, the hours that Zechs had slept could have been counted on one hand.   
  
After each of them had completed their review of the contents of the file, Zechs had to shake his head in disgust. The whole thing had been a set-up.  
  
Zechs sat down at the desk and pulled out the notes and began to review them a fifth time. There were some inconsistencies found in the report, but they had found a big break. Colonel Une had been able to get a complete file on the young woman, Carrie Rio, who had been killed in Relena's place.   
  
When he had first opened the file, he thought he saw Relena looking back at him. Same age, height, weight, long blond hair, hell even the same blood type. But the eyes had been different. Ms. Rio's eyes had been brown and Relena's were violet. That's why her face had been smashed, so no one would recognize the differences in the eye color and facial structure.  
  
Since there were so many similarities between Ms. Rio and Relena, no DNA tests had been run. According to Dr. Ramirez's report, Carrie Rio had been killed in Relena's room due to the amount of blood in the room that matched her DNA. Only small traces of Relena's blood were found near the window. Whoever had committed this crime had done their homework.  
  
A soft knock came from the door, as Noin pushed it open and walked behind the desk to stand beside Zechs. "Zechs, you need some rest. You'll do Relena no good if you continue to work at this pace." Noin said, concern etched across her tired face.  
  
"I'm almost finished Noin, I just need to look over the file one more time and then place some calls."  
  
Noin chuckled, "I wondered how long it would take before you would call them. Don't stay in here all day." Noin squeezed his hand, turned and left the room.  
  
Zechs put his head in his hands and began rubbing his temples. 'So where the hell are you, Relena? Are you alive?' Those questions had plagued him for the past two days. But he knew who could help him answer those questions. Picking up the phone, Zechs began to make some calls of his own.  
  
****************  
  
"Hilde, are you going to get that?! Hilde?!?" Duo called from the living room. The vid-phone rang for a third time. 'I guess not.' Jumping over the couch, Duo was able to pick up the phone before the fourth ring. He found Zechs on the other end of the line.  
  
"Zechs, buddy. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" Duo asked, a mischievous grin plastered across his face.  
  
Zechs' cold, blue eyes glared at him through the screen. "Business. Maxwell, I have a job for you. I need you to come to Earth ASAP."  
"Okay, chief." Duo said with a small salute. "What's the job?"  
"Since you aren't on a secure line, I am not entitled to give you any details. You will receive them once you arrive."  
  
Duo pounded away on the keyboard to his computer and then turned back to Zechs, "I'm booked on the first shuttle tomorrow morning to Earth. I better be getting compensated for spending all this money on such . . ."  
  
"Maxwell, where is Yuy?" Zechs interrupted.  
  
Duo knew exactly where Heero was staying. But he also knew that Heero would not be too thrilled to talk to Zechs. Duo had watched his friend battle with the aftermath of Relena's death. He couldn't bring himself to give Zechs Heero's location. "He's around here somewhere. Why?"  
  
"I want Yuy working on this thing too."  
  
Duo smirked. "You know Zechs, I've known Heero for five years and I can never remember him following orders. What makes you think that he'll accept this so called 'mission'?"  
  
Silence hung between them for only a minute before Zechs shattered it, simply saying, "Tell him it's about Relena." Then the vid-phone screen went blank.  
  
****************  
  
Heero strode into the park, walking toward their normal meeting place. When he reached the old oak tree, he sat down against the tree's trunk. While waiting for Duo, he watched a family enter the park and head toward the lake. The woman pulled out a blanket from the picnic basket and began to set up their lunch, while the father played soccer with the young boy. Heero turned his face away from the scene and closed his eyes. It brought back to many dreams. Dreams that would no longer come true.  
  
"Heero, buddy? Earth to Heero. Man, where were you?"  
Heero opened his eyes and found Duo standing over him. "Hn."  
"Is that your answer for everything?"  
"Hn."  
Duo smiled, "I thought so."  
"All right Duo, why did you call me?"  
  
Duo sighed. "I had a strange call earlier today. Zechs Marquise contacted me about an important job/mission he wants me on. Said he wanted you on the team too."  
  
Heero looked at him with those cold Prussian blue eyes and simply said, "No."  
  
Duo sat down and leaned his back up against the tree. Pulling his hands behind his head, he added, "I told him that you wouldn't take the mission. He told me to convince you otherwise."  
"Hn."  
  
The serious expression that crossed Duo's face alerted Heero that there was something important about this mission. Duo took a deep breath and said, "Heero, the mission has something to do with Relena."  
  
'Mission Accepted.' Heero was up on his feet and striding toward the park's exit, leaving Duo lagging behind. "Let's go." Heero called over his shoulder.  
  
****************  
  
When the shuttle landed, Heero and Duo found a car waiting for them on the tarmac. Duo offered to drive, but took his place in the passenger seat as Heero sunk behind the steering wheel. 'Hopefully he doesn't kill us along the way.' Duo thought as he reached for the seat belt.  
  
They reached the Peacecraft mansion in record time. Pagan was waiting for them at the front door. He escorted them to the library as soon as they crossed the threshold. On the other side of the door sat Quatre, Trowa and Wufei. Colonel Une and Sally handed them each a folder as they moved towards the empty seats.  
  
Heero spoke up before he even reached his chair. "All right, Zechs. What exactly is this all about? "  
  
Zechs whipped around from behind the desk, his blue eyes ablaze. "You were always blunt when it came to certain things, Yuy. Fine, I won't sugar coat it for you. I just learned three days ago that the girl we buried 8 months ago was NOT MY SISTER!"  
  
"WHAT?!?!?!" Rang out a chorus from Duo, Quatre and Wufei as they stood up. They all started asking questions at the same time. Trowa remained seated and silent, like usual. Heero just stood there, his only expression was the shocked look in his eyes.  
  
Zechs shouted, "If you would all sit down and quiet down, we'll try to answer all of your questions." Changing the tone of his voice, Zechs continued, "Three days ago some information pertaining to Relena's death was brought to the attention of the Preventers. The young woman killed in Relena's place looked close enough to be her twin, her name was Carrie Rio. Her last reported location was the new colony L6-2789. She disappeared 9 months ago."   
  
He walked to the window. "Relena's death was a cover-up. As far as we know, she's still alive, but we have no idea why she was taken or by whom. That's where you come in."   
  
Zechs turned his face back to the Gundam Pilots. "We believe that colony L6-2789 is the place to start looking. In the files that Une and Sally handed out, you will find a copy of everything we know about Carrie Rio and the colony. You leave in the morning."  
  
******************  
  
That night, the full moon illuminated the entire room. Heero stood next to the window in the guest bedroom, staring up at the stars.   
  
"Relena." 'Maybe I should have stayed. Where are you Relena? What have they done to you?'   
  
To say that he was shocked to find out there was a possibility Relena could be alive was an understatement. Turning away from the window, Heero strolled over to his duffel bag lying on the bed. Carefully, he pulled out a worn teddy bear and held it close to his heart.  
  
"I promise you, Relena. I will find you."  
  
****************  
  
The ringing of the phone brought him out of his sleep. Darting from his bed, he headed towards the desk. Fumbling in the dark, he flipped on the screen and was greeted by a stern warning.  
  
"They know she's alive. The Gundam Pilots are on their way to the colony."  
"Good. The training has been completed. She's been out in the field for three weeks now and shows no signs of deviating from the plan."  
"No relapses?"  
  
Sighing, he added, "None. Her reports have been coming in daily. The first phase of the plan has been started. She knows what to do." With that he terminated the connection and found his way back to bed.   
  
He lay there for a while, fighting to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. His mind was on other things. Things like Revenge. A smile crossed his face as he thought about a house of cards being blown over in the wind. 'Just a matter of time.'  
  
  
  



	6. A Chance Sighting

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.  
  
A/N: Thanks to those who have kept up with this story. You're the reason I do this stuff; YOU ROCK! Oh, Angel Eyes, I hate to tell you this, but this story will not be finished anytime soon. I already have most of the story through Chapter 11, and I haven't finished the story yet. So Please, hang in there. Most of the chapters have been written, I am just waiting on my editor (AKA husband) to review them. So Chapter 6 will be up next week! Until then, Thanks you guys!  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Nothing.  
  
One and a half weeks of searching had turned up nothing. And that in itself was something. L6-2789 was a fairly new colony, but even then there should have been some sort of a paper trail; political/economical debts, scandals...etc.  
  
Trowa's thorough search of the political, executive and judicial branches of the colony had not turned up anything. Not one corrupt politician or judge. Wufei had been assigned to the police force, through the Preventers intervention, to gain access to police records. Again, they ran into a dead end. Even Quatre had come up empty handed after reviewing the transportation logs since the colony had formed.   
  
Duo and Heero had followed up on the information about Carrie Rio. From what they gathered, Carrie Rio was an intelligent, beautiful young woman who had a bright future ahead of her as a lawyer, and she was sometimes mistaken for the former princess of the world. No evidence was found indicating that she had been involved in any terrorist or Anti-ESUN organizations.  
  
The colony was just too squeaky clean for its own good.  
  
Heero sat in the motel room, waiting for Zechs to contact him for the weekly progress report. The broken AC would only make things more unbearable when Zechs had started asking if they had found anything.  
  
'Something doesn't seem right. Everything is too neat and pretty for a colony only 2 years old.' Heero thought as he mopped the sweat from his brow. 'But Zechs won't want to hear my feelings on the whole situation. He'll just want the facts.'  
  
The alarm on his laptop sounded, indicating the secure line had been established, and Zechs was waiting on the other end. Flipping the top open, he was greeted by Zechs' cold, icy glare.  
  
"Report."  
"We've finished our search of all the major authorities of the colony. Nothing implicating the colony in any illegal activity was found."  
"What about Carrie Rio?"  
"Dead End. She had no ties to any anti-peace factions. She's clean."  
  
Zechs sighed heavily, "Okay, pull out and head to L8-14. Colonel Une reported some possible militant activity on that colony that should be checked out." 'The longer we take checking different leads, the more I lose hope that she will ever be found.' But Zechs knew the former Zero pilot wouldn't give up until Relena was found.  
  
Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he said, "I'll contact you the same time next week on L8-14."  
"Affirmative." Heero answered, before he killed the connection.  
  
****************  
  
Later that night, all five pilots met in Heero's hotel room to discuss the meeting with Zechs.  
  
Duo took one look at Heero and said, "I take it the meeting didn't go too well."  
"We're pulling out tomorrow morning." Heero stated. "Since we've found nothing, Zechs is moving us to a new location to investigate."  
  
Duo vocalized his disagreement. "Heero, you know as well as I do that there is something fishy going on in this colony. We seriously need to check it out further."  
  
"For once, I have to agree with Duo." Trowa's quiet voice came from the corner as Wufei nodded in agreement.  
  
Quatre, the ever-present voice of reason, entered the conversation. "We all agree that there is something not right about this colony. However, the point is, we were unable to find any information suggesting that the colony is involved in illegal activities. Nor were we able to find out if Relena is being held here. We must continue the search."  
  
No one spoke a word, so the silence dragged on until Heero said, "Fine. It's settled then. You four will continue on to the next location. I'll stay behind for three more days, then I'll catch up with you on L8-14."  
  
Duo turned his cobalt gaze towards Heero. "No deal buddy. There's no way I'm going to leave you here to have all the fun. Besides, I'll stay and keep you out of trouble." He added with a wink.  
  
"That sounds like a good idea to me, Duo. Meanwhile Trowa, Wufei and myself will begin the search of L8-14 without you. Just don't except us to do your part." Quatre said, a small smile appearing on his face. 'I know this colony has the answers, but we cannot delay the search any longer. Heero and Duo will find something, I'm sure of it.'  
  
With the decision finally made, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei left the room to pack their things for their morning departure.   
  
Duo turned the chair around, and sat down with his arms leaning on the back of the chair. A mischievous grin crossed his face. "Zechs can't be too surprised with this turn of events. I told him you never follow anyone else's orders but your own." the amusement evident in his voice. "Okay, buddy, we've got 72 hours. Where do we begin?"  
  
Heero walked over to the window in the hotel room, and looked down on the city. 'I know you're here, Relena. But where exactly are you?' "Hn."  
  
****************  
  
For the first 24 hours, they reviewed all the notes taken by the other three pilots, hoping to come across something that was missed the first time, but to no avail.  
  
By the end of the second day, frustration had bloomed in both of them. Duo and Heero had spent most of the day, in some of the seedy parts of the colony; try to find any information on subversive actions. But it turned out to be another dead end.  
  
On the way back to the hotel, Duo's stomach decided it was time for dinner.  
  
"Come on, Heero. Let's stop and get something to eat before we head back to the hotel. We have a long night ahead of us reviewing the information on Carrie Rio." Duo said as he pulled Heero into a local restaurant called Penalty Shots. "There is nothing I know better to cure the blues than sports, burgers and beer."  
  
A bouncy redhead greeted them as they walked in. "Hi. Welcome to Penalty Shots. You here for just drinks or dinner too?"  
  
"Dinner." Heero answered quickly. 'The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back to work.' The hostess escorted them to a corner booth in the back of the restaurant.   
  
"Alex, will be your server. She should be with you in just a minute." Handing them the menus, the hostess turned around and left. Duo turned on the small TV in the booth and flipped through the channels looking for a soccer game.  
  
Alex made her appearance then. She had on a pair of tight black jeans, white tank top and her auburn hair was pulled back into two pigtails. Her green eyes shone as she said, "Great, you guys have the soccer game on! Okay guys, what can I get you for dinner?"  
  
'You have Hilde; you have Hilde.... stop staring at her like she is one of the blue-plate specials.' Duo thought to himself. To the waitress, he said, "I'll have a bacon cheeseburger, French fries and a beer."  
  
"Just a beer for me." Heero said. Alex turned her eyes toward Heero. 'Boy, he looks like he means business. I better not screw this up.' "Okay, I'll go put your order in and bring you guys your beers. Let me know if you need anything." Alex sauntered away and brought them their beers a moment later.  
  
Duo sighed. "Heero, we only have another 30 hours or so until we have to catch up with the others. We need to come up with something and fast."  
  
As the two planned their strategy for the next day, Alex brought Duo his food. "Here you are, sir. Do you happen to know the score of the match?" Duo shrugged quickly. Without hesitation, Heero replied, "2-0 in favor of the Blitz." Duo shot Heero a puzzled look. He was always surprised how Heero could be focused on one thing, yet be aware of everything around him.  
  
"Thanks. It's so hard to try and keep up with the match when we are busy like this." She turned and bumped into another waitress.  
  
Heero and Duo went back to finalizing their plan, when something caught hold of both their attentions.  
  
" . . . I know Alex. I hate to run out on you so suddenly, but something came up. Thanks for picking up my tables."  
"No problem, Raye. That's what friends are for. See you later."  
  
That voice, it was her.  
  
Heero turned to Duo wondering if he had also heard the voice. The wide-eyed look Duo gave him as he choked on his cheeseburger was all the confirmation he needed. Whipping his head around, he began to scan the crowd looking for 'Raye', but all he saw was the main door slamming closed.  
  
Hurdling the table, Heero ran to the door and threw it open. 'She couldn't have gotten far.' Down the street, he made out the silhouette of a female against the city lights, turning the corner.  
  
"Relena!" He called, cupping his hands around his mouth, making his voice carry down the street.  
  
When the figure didn't immediately turn back around the corner, Heero broke into a run. Duo emerged from the restaurant and once he saw Heero running down the street, he automatically started after him.  
  
Heero skidded to a halt as he rounded the corner. There were crowds of people everywhere. Relena had melted into the throng of people and disappeared. Panting, Duo came up behind him and asked, "Did you find her?"  
  
"No." Heero replied, throwing his famous 'death stares' at people as they walked by. 'Tell me I'm not losing my mind. That was Relena, it had to be.'  
  
Duo spoke his thoughts. "Heero, I wasn't dreaming, was I? That was Relena, wasn't it?"  
  
Heero turned his heated gaze toward Duo and said, "Let's go. We have work to do."  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Stakeout or Steak-out (depends on who yo...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or anything for that matter. I make no $$$ off of my stories, I write them for pure enjoyment.  
  
Chapter 6  
  
The computer sprung to life as the well-known phrase 'You've Got Mail!' sang out from the speakers.  
  
'I WONDER who could be sending me mail.'  
  
Clicking the mouse onto the mailbox, the newest message popped onto the screen.  
  
"Phase One completed. Waiting for confirmation to proceed to Phase Two."  
  
'Wonderful.'   
  
A few moments later, a message with the subject line 'Recipes' was sent, confirming the continuation of the plan.   
  
'Let's just drag these messages to the trashcan and dispose of them. Wouldn't want to get caught with this little bit of information.'  
  
With some swift movements of the mouse, the message had been destroyed and the history cleared. 'Goodbye' the computer said shortly before the screen went black.  
  
****************  
  
Back at the hotel, Duo found himself staring down the wrong end of a 9mm pistol.  
  
"I told you, Heero. You're going to have to call Zechs. You're the one that went AWOL from the mission, not me." Duo smirked.  
  
Heero pulled back the pistol and cocked the gun, before centering it on Duo again. Giving him one of his famous glares, he asked, "Then what are you doing here?"  
  
"I'm here to keep you out of trouble." Duo replied, as cocky grin slid across his face.  
"Hn."  
  
Heero lowered the weapon and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. He strode over to the desk and started the computer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Duo make a move for the door. Duo tried to throw the door open, but Heero blocked it with his foot.   
  
Hoping to knock him off balance, Duo threw a punch at Heero, but Heero was too fast and Duo missed. Unfortunately for Duo, Heero's hit was right on the money. Heero dislodged his fist from Duo's midsection as he fell to the floor, doubled over in pain.  
  
Heero nearly smacked himself, as he stood there watching Duo try to catch his breath. 'Heero, you baka! Why did you have to go and do that? Now, you have to deal with Zechs.'  
  
"Coward." He said to Duo as he walked toward the desk.  
  
Through the pain and tears in his eyes, Duo managed to smile. 'I may be a coward, but now I don't have to face Zechs.' Slowly, he was able to pull himself into a seated position.  
  
With a deep sigh, Heero sat down at the computer and began to establish the connection. A couple of minutes later, a surprised Zechs Marquise appeared on the screen.  
  
"Yuy? Have you found anything?"  
"Duo and I saw Relena earlier this evening."  
  
Zechs felt as if the floor had been pulled out from underneath him. 'Relena's alive! My sister is alive. Is she all right? Where has she been? What has she been through?' So many thoughts and questions ran rampant in his mind. Relief washed over him, but he refused to show that to the former Zero pilot.   
  
All he asked was, "Then I take it we should expect you sometime tomorrow?"  
  
Duo grimaced. 'Time to make an exit because the shit is about to hit the fan.' As he closed the door quietly, Duo thought 'Maybe getting punched in the stomach wasn't as bad as I thought, cause I'd hate to be in Heero's shoes now.' Whistling, he turned from the door and walked away.  
  
Back inside the room, Heero stood staring at the computer screen. Finally, he answered, "No."  
  
Zechs slammed his fist down on the desk as he stood up, pushing the chair into the wall behind him. His eyes narrowed slightly, anger evident in his gaze and his voice. "No? What do you mean NO? Yuy, where in the hell is my sister?"  
  
All Heero could do was stare at the computer. How was he suppose to tell Zechs he had been thrown off balance by hearing her soft voice and that he hadn't been able to recover from his shock quickly enough to catch her. 'When did I become so soft?' He wasn't' surprised when a voice in the back of his head answered, 'The day you met her.'  
  
"We lost visual contact with her and were not able to pick up her trail. We plan to stake out the area where we last saw her starting tomorrow."  
  
Zechs' icy glare became nearly frozen. "I expect you to have her in your custody by the end of the week. Have you been able to determine if her abduction is tied to the small radical group on the colony?"  
  
" . . ."  
  
"You aren't on L8-14, are you Yuy?" The malevolent voice came from the computer.  
  
"No."   
  
'I should have listened to Maxwell.' Zechs thought as he cursed Heero's actions.   
  
"I don't care where in the universe you are, just bring my sister back to Earth. Or I WILL finish what we started in Antarctica 5 years ago! Let's see if you can at least follow that ONE SIMPLE ORDER!" The screen went blank on that note.  
  
"That went well."  
  
******************  
  
After emerging from a semi-warm shower, with a towel slung across his hips, Heero walked over to the bed and sat down. Resting his elbows on his knees, he held his head in his hands.   
  
Today was the first time he had seen her in nearly two years. And even then, it had been barely a quick glance. But he knew it was her.   
  
'If I would have stayed, instead of leaving her, would things have turned out this way? No, they wouldn't have. I wouldn't have let them get close enough to her.' But, the fact was, he did leave.  
  
-----Flashback-----  
  
Relena sat at her desk, typing up the last part of her speech she was making later that day. Pencil clenched between her teeth, hair pulled back into her patented ponytail, her fingers flew across the keyboard. Her eyes fixated on the computer screen. That's the way Heero found her when he stepped into the office.  
  
He stared at her for a moment, memorizing her features, before he made is presence known. She whipped her gaze in his direction, after he cleared his throat.  
  
"Heero!" Her face lit up as she smiled. "I didn't know you where here. What a delightful surprise! I was just getting ready to leave for a conference. I'm glad you stopped by."  
  
She walked from behind the desk and headed toward him. The sun shone through the window behind her, turning her hair golden. Her violet eyes seemed to sparkle as she made her way closer to him. Finally, Heero held out his hand, a silent request for her to stop where she was.  
  
"I'm leaving."  
"Oh. How long will you be gone this time?"  
"I'm not coming back, Relena."  
  
The smile quickly fell from her face. She turned her face away from him, trying to hide her unshed tears. "You're not coming back?"  
  
"No." He answered. 'Don't make this any harder for me Relena.'  
  
"Where are you going?"  
" . . ."  
  
Sniffling, she walked over to her luggage. "Well I wish you a safe journey. But before you go, I have something I want to give you." Opening up her small overnight bag, she slowly pulled out a worn teddy bear with a ribbon around its neck.  
  
Relena hugged it tightly against her body before she turned to face Heero. She held the bear out to him and said as hushed tears fell down her cheek, "Take it. I want you to have something to remember me by."  
  
Tentatively, Heero reached out and took the bear from her grasp. He stood there staring at the bear as Relena strode back to her desk.  
  
"If you could excuse me, Heero, but I really need to finish this speech within the next 20 minutes."  
  
She kept her back to him, refusing to let him see her cry. He held the bear tightly in his hand, and marched over to the door.  
  
"Goodbye, Relena"   
"Goodbye, Heero" 'I love you, Heero.'  
  
As he pulled the door to her office closed, he saw her lay her head against the desk, her body shaking with her soundless crying.  
  
'I love you, too, Relena.'   
  
And then he walked away.  
  
-----End Flashback-----  
  
While he had been trying to sort out his life, Relena nearly lost hers. Slamming his fist down into the lumpy bed, he made a silent vow.  
  
'I won't let her life be threatened again. I'll become her shadow once more.'  
  
****************  
  
"Hey, you guys come back for the food or the atmosphere?" Alex asked as she greeted Duo and Heero when she came to find them in her section.  
  
Duo turned on the charm. "A little of both. But we really came to see our favorite waitress in the colony."  
  
Heero rolled his eyes. His idea of a stake out and Duo's idea differed greatly. While he wanted to set up around the clock surveillance on the restaurant and surrounding area, Duo thought it would be ideal to do some reconnaissance first. A coin tossed determined which idea would prevail. Duo won. 'I bet he was using a double sided coin.' Heero thought as Alex handed him a menu.  
  
"Where's Raye?" Heero asked being his normal blunt self.  
  
Duo shot him a look that read, 'Smooth move, buddy. Could you used just a little more tact?'  
  
Alex raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "You guys know, Raye?"  
  
Before Heero could open his mouth, Duo spoke up. "Yup. Jon and I have known Raye for a couple of years. Lost track of her since she moved a couple of months ago, but we saw her working in here yesterday. How long have you known her?"  
  
Alex set down her pad and began to tap her chin with her pen while she did a mental count in her head. "Gosh, I've only known Raye for about two months. We hit it off so well when she started working that she became my new roommate. Feels like I've known her all my life."  
  
"So do you know if she'll be in later tonight? Jon and I would love to see her before we leave at the end of the week."  
  
The smile left Alex's face. "Sorry, guys. Raye's last day was yesterday. She got accepted into one of the universities on L2...I can't remember which one off the top of my head. She's spending the next two days up in the cabins, but after that she's leaving for college."  
  
Duo shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, maybe we will catch her if we are ever on L2. So how about getting me one of those famous cheeseburgers, some fries and a beer. I am famished!"  
  
Alex turned on her 100-watt smile and said, "You got it! Well Jon, just a beer again, or something with substance this time?"  
  
Heero kept his hard blue gaze focused on Duo as he answered, "I'll have the same thing Matt is having."  
  
"Let me just go and put your orders in. Be back in a flash!" Alex turned and left the two pilots sitting there alone.  
  
Heero sent Duo a puzzled look. "Jon? Is that the best you could come up with?"  
"Well Matt was a real winner too."  
  
Duo leaned back in the booth, stretching his arms out to his sides. "I hate to be an I-told-you-so, but I told you that the recon would work out."  
  
"Okay, genius. One quick question."  
"Shoot."  
"Where are the cabins?"  
  
Silenced reigned in the booth until Duo smacked his head. "Aw shit."  
"Exactly. Let's get our meal and then head back to the hotel. We have a long night ahead of us."  
  
  
A/N: Okay, everybody. I know the one updated chapter every week is starting to wear thin. So, by special request of aure84, TWO chapters for the price of ONE. Enjoy, because I don't know when you will be able to see this special offer again! Thanks for the reviews, you guys are the BEST!! ^_^  
  
  



	8. Lost and Found

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.  
  
A/N: For those of you who have been sticking with the story, this one's for you. Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews. You don't know how much they mean to me. Okay, enough sap, on with the show!! :o)  
  
Chapter 7  
  
The only sound heard coming from the last room on the third floor of the hotel was the sound of someone furiously typing away on a keyboard.   
  
Behind the door, two young men sat on opposite sides of the room, hunched over their computers. Each of them concentrating on the task at hand. They had been that way for nearly two hours.  
  
Groaning, Heero pushed himself away from the desk. Of all the missions he had been on, this was the hardest. Not because his of the main objective, but because he kept getting kicked off-line. 'How hard could it be to find one small cabin on this colony?'  
  
"I've got it!" Duo announced, staring at the computer screen. Heero rushed from his side of the room to Duo's.  
  
Looking up at Heero, Duo continued. "Right before I lost the connection, I was able to locate her position. She's staying at a resort on the east side of the colony called Simplicity Falls. According to the web, the resort is a replica of the Blue Ridge Mountains found in the good-ole US of A. She checked into Cabin #1 this morning and will be there for the next two days."  
  
Heero walked over to his desk and began unhooking the computer. "Good. Pack up Duo, we leave tonight."  
  
****************  
  
About 0600 the following morning, the artificial sunlight was turned on and the backdrop of the mountains was picturesque. Fingers of light shone down on the cabins in the tiny valley. The sounds of the morning echoed around them.  
  
The scene around him, reminded him of the time that he had followed Relena to the nearby mountains of the Sanc Kingdom. He smiled as he thought back to that weekend.  
  
Relena had left early that morning, trying not to wake a soul as she stole downstairs. Heero had watched her from the shadows as she crept through the mansion and stood by as she ended up 'stealing' a car, taking it up to the Peacecraft cabin. For three whole days, he sat outside the cabin and watched her curl up and read a book. Or head down to the creek, squealing as she jumped into the icy water.  
  
Sometimes she would sit along the railing of the porch, not moving from that spot for hours. He often wondered about what she was thinking about while she sat there, staring off into the unknown. 'Was she thinking about peace? Ways to maintain it, ways to save it? Was she thinking about me?'  
  
For three days, he stayed hidden in the shadows of the trees, watching her every move. But during those two nights, he found himself standing next to her bed watching the silent rise and fall of her chest while she slept. Maybe she was aware of his presence, or not, but he liked to think that the smile on her face was because she was dreaming about him.  
  
Duo's voice snapped Heero back to the present. "Buddy, I have to say that's the scariest thing I've ever seen you do."  
Heero turned a confused look toward Duo. "What 'scariest' thing did I just do?"  
Duo arched one eyebrow and said, with amusement in his voice, "You just smiled."  
Shoving Duo to the side, Heero replied, "Hn.", as the stern expression returned to his face.  
  
The opening of the door to Cabin #1, grabbed both of their attentions. Stunned, they both watched as SHE stepped out onto the patio.  
  
Clad in a pair of short jean shorts and a white tank top, Relena stepped from the doorway. Extending her arms over her head, as she did her morning stretches. Her long blond hair had been chopped to shoulder length; the sides pulled back out of her face and secured with a clip. Finally, with a cat-like grace that she always possessed, she curled up in the porch swing with her book.  
  
Heero kept his eyes focused on her as swung back and forth. 'She looks so out of place wearing those clothes; not the clothes of a diplomat or princess.'   
  
Duo started to rise when Heero caught his shoulder. Pulling Duo back to a crouched position, Heero said, "Not just yet."   
"What? Heero, she's right there." Duo stated as her pointed in her direction. "We'll walk up to the cabin, see if she remembers us. If not, we'll introduce ourselves."  
"I said... Not... Just... Yet."  
Heero turned his gaze toward Relena. 'Let her enjoy her normal life a little longer, before she is thrown back into the madness.'  
Blowing a lock of hair out of his face, Duo replied, "Fine. While you sit here and gawk at her, I'm going to find something to eat." Quietly, Duo got up and headed in the other direction, leaving Heero to watch Relena.  
  
After about an hour, Relena closed her book and set it down on the end table. Pushing away from the swing, she headed down the stairs of the porch and began to follow the trail that lead to the lake. Heero followed her, keeping a close distance under the cover of the trees.   
  
Once they reached the lake, Relena headed straight for the water. Heero could see her flinch as she walked into the cold water stopping only when the water barely hit the bottom of her shorts.  
  
'What in the hell is she doing?'  
  
Heero watched in amazement as she dove in the rest of the way. He began to worry when she didn't come up immediately and started to come out of his hiding place, but then she broke the surface of the lake with a peal of laughter. He let out the breath that he had been holding and relaxed, content to watch her swim in the frigid water. She finally had enough and began to make her way toward the bank, emerging from the water with no towel to cover her cold body.  
  
His gaze was transfixed on her; the way the clothes clung to her damp body. He took a step forward without realizing it, until a bunch of twigs broke under his weight. Relena whipped her head around in his direction. She squinted her eyes and upon seeing his shadow in the trees, she took off running.  
  
'Maybe we should have done things Duo's way.' He thought to himself as he chased after her. 'I don't remember her being so fast.' His long stride was able to eat away at the lead she had started with, but he still wasn't close enough to catch her. Against his better judgment, he shouted her name.   
  
"RELENA!"  
  
Relena turned her attention toward him as she continued running, when the voice behind her screamed again.  
  
"Relena, look out!"  
  
But it was too late, Relena's feet had been caught up in some overgrown roots, causing her to pitch forward and land head first into the tree. Rushing over to her side, Heero picked her up in his arms and began looking for injuries.  
  
Besides the huge bump on the side of her head, he found a small white scar that marred her cheek below her right eye. Her violet eyes were confused as she looked at him. "Heero . . ." His name escaped her lips before her head slumped to the side as she passed out.   
  
With Relena safely tucked his arms; he quickly headed back to the cabin. Staring down at her as he followed the trail, he could only think of one thing. 'She remembers.'  
  
Duo was waiting by the cabin, when Heero strode up carrying Relena. Rushing forward, Duo asked, "I leave you alone for about a little over an hour and look what happens. What'd you do? Hit her over the head with a club so we could drag her back to Earth."  
  
"Hn." Heero answered as he entered the cabin, with Duo on his heels.  
  
****************  
  
She felt she had been run over by a car. Her entire body hurt, but most of all she had an incredible headache. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found a pair of Prussian blue ones staring back at her.  
  
"Heero?" She asked, as her vision started to clear more, bringing him into focus.   
  
"Relena."   
  
Gradually, she moved to a sitting position on the couch. They were content to stare at each other, until Duo walked into the room.  
  
"Jousan, how are you feeling?" Duo asked, handing her an ice pack.  
"Not very graceful at the moment, Duo" Relena said as accepted the aspirin he also handed her.  
  
After taking the aspirin, she winced as she carefully put the ice pack on her head. 'I wish the world would stop spinning for a minute.'  
  
Heero crossed his arms across his chest. "Why'd you take off like that?"  
"I thought they were following me."  
"They?" Duo asked as he sat down on the couch next to her.  
"The ones who kidnapped me."  
  
Duo an arm around her shoulders, his cobalt eyes held a serious expression. "Why didn't you let us know you were alive?"  
  
Sighing, she hung her head and focused her gaze on her feet. "What was I suppose to do, walk up to the door, bang on it and say 'Honey, I'm home.' As far as you all knew I was dead. I couldn't risk returning home, they knew that is the first place I would go."  
  
"Who is 'They', Relena?" The malevolence in Heero' voice made her shutter.  
  
Relena turned her face up to his. "They call themselves 'die passende Rache'. They kept me prisoner for about 7 months; keeping me drugged the entire time. Apparently, they thought that I would be of use to them; they wanted information on the Preventers and the power of the ESUN. But when I refused to 'cooperate', even with the drugs they gave me, they shot me and left me for dead on L5-74."   
  
Lifting up her the bottom of her tank top, she showed them the healing scar of the gunshot wound to her stomach.  
  
Duo shook his head, amazed that she was sitting next to him after taking a shot like that.   
  
'If I had been there, none of this would have ever happened.' Heero thought as he stared at her.  
  
Pulling the top back into place, Relena continued, "Somehow, I survived and they have been trying to find me ever since. I realized that I had to go into hiding until they were either brought down or you found out the truth of my 'death'. So for the past two months, I have been running from colony to colony, hoping to keep one step ahead of them. "  
  
Removing the ice pack from her head, she ran a hand across the massive bump, testing how sore it was. Heero leaned closer to her, his eyes locked with her violet ones.   
  
"You are going to have that bump for a while. Hopefully, it won't bruise much more. Are you okay?"  
  
She flashed him a weak smile. "I'm fine, just a little tired."  
  
Duo stood and helped her up to her feet. "Well, let's get you tucked into bed. While your asleep, Heero and I will make arrangements to get you back home." Looking at Heero over Relena's head, Duo flashed him a look that read, 'We need to talk.'  
  
While Duo lead Relena toward the bedroom, Heero walked over to the computer he had step up earlier. Flipping the switch, the computer came to life and began to make the connection. Within a matter of minutes, Heero was talking with Zechs.  
  
"Mission Completed."  
"You have her in your custody? Is she all right?"  
"She's fine. We'll be bringing her home as soon as you make the arrangements."  
"Tomorrow. Be at the spaceport tomorrow at midnight. My private shuttle will be waiting."  
"Affirmative." Heero killed the connection and turned to find Duo standing behind him.  
  
Heero looked past him, down the hallway, making sure the door to the bedroom had been pulled shut.   
  
"I don't think she's telling us everything, Heero."   
Heero's blue eyes narrowed slightly. "I know she isn't telling us everything. But I am not about to push the issue here and now. We'll find out soon enough."  
Duo sighed heavily, "Well, I guess I'll take first watch on the porch. But, first things first." He called over his shoulder as he headed toward the kitchen.   
  
Quietly moving down the hallway, Heero found himself opening the door to her room. He peered around the corner at her sleeping form lying on the bed, covers pulled up to her chin. Silently, he entered the room and stood beside her. 'I'll protect you now Relena, make no mistake about that.' He leaned close to her and gently laid a ragged teddy bear next to her, before he turned and left the room.  
  
****************  
  
The room was filled with the lingering smell of cigar smoke. Unfinished glasses of brandy sat on the oak coffee table, beside the tray that once held small desserts. Over the mantle, hung a picture of the future. Their future.  
  
The loud shrill of the intercom broke the heavy silence that hung in the study.  
  
"Report."  
"We haven't received her daily report. Our operative said that she was located earlier today."  
  
A wicked smile could be heard in his tone of voice. "Excellent. Keep me informed of the situation."  
  
'Now it is only a matter of time. I'm a very patient person. I can wait until the right moment to light the fuse to our time bomb.'  
  
  



	9. Resurrection

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.  
  
Chapter 8  
  
As homecomings go, this was far more subdued then the other times that Relena Peacecraft returned to Earth. White-knuckled, she held on to the arm rests as the shuttle bounced along the runaway, coming to a halt on a private stretch of tarmac.  
  
A black limo waited at the bottom of the flight stairs, to take the three occupants of the shuttle to the Peacecraft mansion. There were no noisy reporters or flashing lights from cameras to greet them as they descended the stairs. As far as the rest of the world was still concerned, Relena Peacecraft was still dead.  
  
Unlike the pink limo she normally rode in, the black vehicle that carried Relena, Duo and Heero passed through the Sanc Kingdom without raising an eyebrow. Soon enough the ride was over as the car slowed to a stop in front of the main entrance to the mansion.  
  
Pagan opened the door to the limo and held onto for support as he watched her emerge.  
"Welcome back, Ms. Relena." Pagan whispered as he choked back his tears.   
  
Relena lowered her eyes for a moment and then brought her gaze up to meet his. "Thank you, Pagan. Could you please show us where my brother and the others are waiting?"  
  
With Duo and Heero flanking her sides, Pagan then escorted them through the main door and hall to Zechs' private study. As Pagan opened the huge oak doors, everyone else on the other side stood and turned their gaze toward the doorway. Duo and Heero entered first, followed by Relena. Once they were all inside, Pagan closed the doors and stood guard over the study.  
  
Shocked looks and teary eyes greeted Relena. Noin walked over and hugged her. "Oh, Relena. We're so happy to have you back, safe and sound." Relena wrapped her arms around her sister-in-law, returning the hug. "I'm happy to be back."  
  
Hilde tentatively walked up behind Noin as she held Relena in her embrace. Once Noin was finished with her hug, Hilde stepped forward and grabbed both of Relena's hands. "I couldn't believe it when Duo told me everything. Relena, I've missed you so much."   
Relena smiled as tears ran down her face. "I've missed you too, Hilde."  
  
Hilde dropped her hands and Relena stepped further into the room. She wiped away her tears and turned to see Colonel Une, Sally and Catherine all flashed huge smiles in her direction, their eyes misty with unshed tears.  
  
On the other side of the room stood the other three Gundam Pilots. Both Trowa and Wufei nodded towards her, neither one of them would be caught showing their true emotions, while Quatre strolled up to her. His blue eyes shining brightly as he greeted her.  
  
"Once we found out that you could possible be alive, I knew deep down that we would find you and bring you home."  
"Thank you, Quatre."  
  
Finally, Relena turned her gaze toward the haggard-looking young man standing behind the desk.  
  
"Hello, Milliardo."  
"Hello, Relena." He said as a tunnel of darkness began to envelope him.  
  
Minutes later, with the help of smelling salts, Zechs came out of his swoon.   
As he opened his eyes, Noin's face came into focus. "What happened, Noin?"  
  
Sally was kneeling down beside him. "His pulse seems to have returned to normal. Too much excitement and not enough sleep is my guess to the cause of his faint." Turning her eyes toward his, she shot Zechs a questioning look. "How do you expect to live to a ripe old age, if you can't take care of yourself now?"   
  
"I'm fine, no need to worry yourselves. Where's Relena?" Zechs asked, straining his neck, trying to locate his sister.  
"I'm right here, Zechs." Her concerned face appeared before him.  
"Are you all right?" he asked as he began to finally sit up.  
"I'm fine. I'm not the one who passed out."  
"No, you didn't." Turning his ice blue eyes in Heero's direction, he continued, "But you have a huge bump on the side of your head. How did that happen?"  
A blush rose on her face. "I had a disagreement with a tree."  
  
"What...?" Quatre began.  
Duo cut him off. "Don't ask."  
  
Sally turned her attention toward Relena. "That's a nice size bump you got there." Running her hand across Relena's head, she checked the tenderness of her injury. "Hm. I think you need to be looked over, Relena. Not just for the bump, but to see about your health otherwise."  
  
Relena nodded. "If you say so, Sally, but I would like to get it over as soon as possible. Do you mind if we do it now?"  
"Not at all." With that Sally lead Relena out of the study, with Noin and Catherine on her heels. Hilde closed the doors after they left. She turned and looked at Duo, but Zechs spoke the words that she was thinking.  
  
"All right, tell me everything."  
  
Heero answered him. "She says she was taken by a new extremist group know as 'die passende Rache'."  
  
A confused look crossed Une's face. "We've never heard of this group before. Do you know where they're based? We need to get the Preventers on the case ASAP."  
  
Duo shook his head. "Nope. We have no idea and neither does Relena. Apparently, they thought that they could gain important information from her on the Preventers and ESUN. She's been on the run from them since they shot and left her for dead on L5-74." Duo took one look around the room and regretted opening his mouth.  
  
Stunned gasp, colorful words and angry glares filled the room.  
"Shot?!"  
"They tried to kill her!?"  
"Injustice!"  
  
'Smooth move, Maxwell' Heero thought as he tried to defuse the situation. "Once they found out the Relena was going to be less than cooperative, they decided to dispose of her. She was lucky enough to survive. However, they now know that they failed in killing her and have been after her for about two months."  
  
"So, she still is being targeted." Trowa stated.  
Duo sighed as he placed his hand on Hilde's shoulder. "Yea. We're going to have to keep a close eye on her."  
  
All eyes spun toward the door of the study as it opened and Noin and Sally walked in.  
"How is she?"   
"Dehydrated, under weight, stressed and exhausted. She has a slight concussion from her fall, but other than that, she's in perfect health." Not knowing the best way to approach the next subject, she decided to leave out the part about the healing gunshot wound. "Doctor's orders are for a night of complete, uninterrupted sleep."  
  
Zechs stood up from the couch. "All right. Everybody will meet back here tomorrow morning. We have a lot of things that need to be discussed."  
  
Une turned toward her agents. "Sally, Wufei, you're with me. We've to get the ball rolling quickly on this one, we can't afford for the embers of this rebellious organization to grow into a raging wildfire." She answered Sally's perplexed look by saying, "We'll bring you up to date on the way to headquarters."  
  
Une began to follow her agents as they left, but paused when she got to the doorway. Turning, Une addressed the other Gundam pilots. "Consider yourselves Preventer agents as of this moment." She closed the door behind her as she left.  
  
Playing hostess, Noin declared. "We've taken the liberty of making up guest rooms for all of you."  
  
As Heero was shown to his room, he kept a mindful eye on Relena's door as he walked by.  
  
****************  
  
She didn't know on how long he planned to stand in the shadows. She laid on her side, with her face toward the window, her back toward him. She didn't know if he thought she was awake or not, but he continued to stare at her, his gaze burning deep into her back. Finally, she gave up the battle and sat up.  
  
Relena saw him retreat further into the darkness when she looked in his direction. "I know you're there, Heero. You might as well come out and sit down, I can't sleep either."  
  
Slowly, he walked forward. The moonlight that streamed in the window illuminated his face. His expressions were unguarded; she could tell that he was worried.   
  
"I'm worried too, Heero. Have I put you all in danger by coming back here? Will I be safe here? I wasn't safe from them the first time, what will keep them from taking me again?"  
  
The bed gave under Heero's weight as he sat down. His blue eyes shone in the moonlight as he said, "I will." He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Go to sleep, Relena. I'll be here if you need me." Pushing away from the bed, Heero resumed his silent vigil from the shadows.  
  
Relena laid back down, her back toward him once more as she closed her eyes. A sly smile crept across her face, hidden by the shadows.  
  
****************  
  
The following morning, Relena walked into the dining room for breakfast. Her hair had been pulled back from her face and completely secured with a clip at the base of her neck. Her usual diplomatic attire hung slightly on her body, a telltale sign of the weight that she lost during her ordeal. The funny thing was most of the weight that she had lost had been replaced by semi-toned muscle.  
  
Zechs watched her as she walked into the room and took her normal seat at the end of the enormous table. When he first saw her enter the room, he thought he had seen a ghost. But when she flashed her smile at him while she pulled her chair out from the table, he remembered that only parts of the past eight months were now still a nightmare. His sister was alive and home.  
  
"Good Morning, Milliardo."  
"Good Morning, Relena."  
"How are you this morning?"  
"Fine. Yourself?"  
"Fine." Relena picked up her fork and began to push her food around her plate under Zechs' watchful stare. Finally, she gave up, put her fork down and turned her attention in his direction.  
  
"Could you bring me up to date on all of the changes that have taken place within the ESUN during my absence?"  
A heavy silence hung between them until Zechs replied, "What are you thinking about, Relena?"  
"I want to return to my role as Vice Foreign Minister."  
  
"Are you serious?" Zechs asked with an incredulous look on his face. "The whole entire universe thinks you're dead! How are you going to rejoin the ESUN if you're supposedly dead? And what about that radical group that has been following you?"  
  
Slamming her hands down on the table, she stood up pushing her chair back and threw him a vicious look. "By telling the truth! That's how I plan to get back into the ESUN. I'll tell them about the circumstances surrounding my 'death'. And as for the radical group, I refuse to lie down and let them dictate my life, now that I have it back!"  
  
"Actually, putting her back in the limelight could be used to our advantage."  
  
Relena and Zechs turned towards the sound of the voice and saw their audience. All five Gundam pilots, Hilde, Noin, Sally and Une stood right inside the entrance of the dining room.   
  
Walking further into the room, Colonel Une continued with her reasoning. "We've spent all night researching what little information we have on this newest resistance group and came up with virtually nothing. They want something, look at the extreme lengths they went to for information. If Relena rejoins the ESUN, and re-enters the public eye, we may be able to force their hand."  
  
"NO." Every pair of eyes whipped around to the owner of the outburst. He narrowed his eyes, challenging each and every one of them with his famous 'death' glare.  
  
Only one person dared to answer his challenge. And he wasn't surprised as she turned her enraged violet eyes on him. "NO?! This is the perfect chance to not only save the peace between the Earth and Colonies by bringing these people to justice, but I will also be able to resume my role as Vice Foreign Minister; both of which are important to me. I WILL do this with or without your help." Bowing slightly, Relena marched out of the room.  
  
"Rule Number 1 when dealing with women: Never, ever try to tell them what to do or you're bound to end up sleeping on the couch." Duo chuckled as smacked Heero on the back.  
"Hn."  
  
Noin stepped in and helped take control of the situation. "Well, if she is hell bent on doing this, then we need to sit down and plan this thing out." Moving toward the table, everyone with the exception of Heero, sat down and began to prepare for Relena's resurrection.  
  
****************  
  
A black limo pulled up in front of the ESUN Senate building early the following morning. Three people emerged from the vehicle and made their way towards the main entrance. Once inside, they hurried to the elevators, boarding one before the door's shut.  
  
About halfway up, Zechs reached over and hit the emergency stop button. Sighing, he looked at his sister. " Are you sure this is what you want? You don't have to do this you know?"   
  
Pulling off her scarf, floppy hat and sunglasses, Relena stared back at him. "This is something I need to do." Reaching past Zechs, she released the emergency break and the elevator continued to ascend. At the President's floor, Une typed in her pass code, allowing the doors to open. Striding off the elevator, they moved toward the President's private office. Une softly knocked on the door, pushed it opened and looked around the corner.  
  
"Colonel, what an unexpected surprise." The elderly man sitting at the desk began. A smile crossed his face as he continued. "What brings you to my office at this un-Godly hour this morning?" He paused as he brought his coffee cup up to his mouth as Une threw open the door and two figures entered his office.  
  
The coffee cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the desk. He recognized the young woman standing just inside the doorway. Gone were the long blond hair and the soft edges. She seemed older and tougher. 'I'm seeing things.' He thought as he rubbed his eyes.  
  
Relena smiled as she approached him. "No, you're not seeing things Mr. President. Nor am I a ghost."  
"If you're not a ghost, then what exactly are you?"  
"Why your Vice Foreign Minister, of course."  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, I know it's been a while since I have updated any of my stories. Sorry! But, I am back and my muse is working overtime...which is a good thing! I have one quick question to ask you all: Does anyone know if the President of the ESUN has a name? Or is he just Mr. President? Any info, would be greatly appericated. Well, I have to get back to finishing this story, until then! :o)  
  



	10. Patience is a virtue...

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.  
  
"It's bad if your enemy is quick, but it's worse if he's patient." --Marilyn Monroe  
  
  
Chapter 9  
  
4 months later . . .  
  
Heero stared out of the window of the glass elevator as he made his way up to Colonel Une's office at Preventers HQ. His mind was a jumbled mess of questions that no one could seem to answer. Things had been quiet since Relena had 'returned from the dead.' The kind of quiet that one expects to be followed by a tremendous explosion. 'But when and where will the explosion take place?' Heero had a pretty good idea when it would happen.  
  
Finally the elevator stopped and the doors silently opened. Two heavy oak doors stood before him, acting as sentries over the operations taking place inside. Heero walked over to the doors and drawing a breath, pushed them open. As he entered into the main conference center, six frustrated faces greeted him. Taking his seat next to Duo, Heero turned his attention from his previous thoughts and to task at hand.   
  
Une stood as she addressed them. "In the past couple of months, we've been able to locate and eliminate the threat of 3 different anti-peace factions. However, not a single one of them was connected to 'die passende Rache.' For the next couple of days, we will be on the defensive, not offensive."  
  
Sally got up from her chair and passed four of the pilots different colored folder. As they opened the folders, Une continued. "Inside you will find your assignments for the upcoming peace summit. If they were going to try anything, this would be the time. Trowa, you and Wufei will be scouting the perimeter of the President's Mansion. While Duo and Heero will head up security on the inside."  
  
"Hey, is Quatre getting special privileges or something? How come he didn't get a folder?" Duo asked.  
"Stupid American Baka." Wufei muttered under his breath.  
Duo turned toward Wufei. "I heard that. Would you like to take this outside?"  
  
"ENOUGH!" Une snapped. "I know that tensions are running pretty high right now, but I really don't need you agents having petty arguments" She looked at Duo. "To answer your question, Duo, Quatre will be attending the summit as a representative of L4. He'll be our inside contact. This will be Relena's first official public appearance. You all have to be on guard for anything. The plane leaves in three hours so be ready." With a nod, she dismissed them. Pushing away from the table all five pilots exited the room.  
  
"Heero, can I talk to you for a moment?" Une called as he began to walk away. Heero turned to Duo, who nodded with acknowledgement and closed the doors behind him as he left.  
Heero waited impatiently for Une to tell him why she wanted him to stay.  
"Have you been able to find out any other information from Relena?"  
"No. She hasn't mentioned it since returning to the ESUN."  
"Do you think she's still not telling us everything?"  
"She's still hiding something. What that is, I don't know. But I intend to find out."  
  
As Heero left the conference room, he found Duo lounging against the wall. As Heero continued toward the elevator, Duo fell into step beside him.  
"So buddy, looks like we're going to be partners again." Duo grinned.  
Heero looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Only because I picked the short straw." He said to Duo as he continued to stride down the hall.  
Duo stopped and placed his hands on his hips. Calling to Heero as he walked away, he said, "If that's what you consider an attempt at humor, the you're in desperate need of help." Sighing, he jogged to catch up to Heero.   
  
****************  
  
Hilde greeted Heero with a genuine smile as he approached her. "Heero, I was wondering who would be taking over my post." She took a sip of her coffee and continued. "Nothing to report, unless you count her venting by throwing paper balls around her office. I think she's got a serious case of writer's block. I can't imagine trying to write X number of speeches in Y amount of time." With a quick shrug of her shoulders, she added, "I guess that's why I'm a soldier and not a politician."  
  
She handed him her earpiece and walkie-talkie. "We'll see you at the airport." Turning, she ran down the hallway toward Duo, who was waiting by the door.  
  
He entered the room as he had done times before. Silently. She sat straight up in her chair; her eyes squinted as she focused on the computer screen, her fingers typing quickly on the keyboard. The last time he had seen her like this was the day he left her two years ago. But unlike the last time he was in her office, he wasn't going anywhere.  
  
Relena paused under his watchful gaze and tilted her head in his direction. She smiled as she greeted him. "Heero."  
"Relena."  
"I take it that it is time to catch our flight." When he nodded his reply, she added, "Let me finish up this email real quick, then we can be on our way."  
  
Heero watched as she returned her attention toward the computer. Since she had been renamed Vice Foreign Minister, she had thrown herself into her work. Late hours, numerous debates and conferences, she seemed to be addicted to her work. Heero frowned as he thought about how lively she had been that day they found her at the cabins and how she had lost that freedom. 'If she continued at this pace, she may work herself into an early grave.' The thought made him inwardly cringe.   
  
Then he did something that he had never done before: he walked up to her desk and stood beside her.  
  
He watched as the message 'Your message has been sent.' appeared on the screen. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow as she turned to face him.  
  
"Even though I'm Vice Foreign Minister, doesn't mean that I forget my friends. I just sent a quick note to Alex, letting her know about the news of my life."  
"You're sending her 'Recipes'?"  
Relena flashed him a tentative smile. "Well I was on the run for a while. Did you think that I starved the entire time? I'll have you know, Mr. Yuy, that I can make a mean spaghetti sauce."   
  
Turning off her computer, she pushed away from the computer, grabbed her things and placed them in her carry on. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she looked at him. "I know that you're worried about me. But I want you to know that I can take care of myself."  
  
"We'll see."  
"I guess we will." Spinning on her heel, she left him in the office pondering her final comment.  
  
****************  
  
For the most part the plane ride was uneventful. Except for the time that its crazy pilot thought a nosedive was necessary. Once Wufei regained the controls from Duo, the plane landed safely.  
  
During the trip, Relena had focused her attention out the window, while Heero had focused her attention. He sat there, wondering when she had become so distant. Normally, she would be talking their ears off, but this time, she looked lost in thought. 'What are you still hiding from me, Relena?'   
  
He continued to watch her now as she disembarked the plane.  
  
At the bottom of the flight steps, she greeted the elderly man with a whole-hearted smile.  
"Mr. President. I see you are doing well this morning."  
"Relena, my dear. I'm so happy to see you have arrived safely. Shall we?" The President asked, offering his arm to escort her to the limo.  
  
Once seated in the limo, the President continued to fill Relena in on the events of the upcoming summit. "Well, my dear, because of you, this will be the best turn out at a summit to date. All the top political officials from both Earth and the Colonies will be in attendance. I hope you don't mind, but I've added some things to your itinerary." Reaching beside him, he pulled out the folder and handed it to Relena.   
  
She scanned the contents quickly and then gave him a reassuring smile. "There should be no problem with the additional speeches that you added. But what is this about a gala?"  
  
"I thought it would be appropriate for the summit, but also to celebrate your return. Is that a problem?"  
"No problem. Though I don't know if I exactly have the correct attire for a formal party."  
  
As the limo came to a stop outside the mansion, the President smiled. "We'll make sure that we give you time to shop for a dress."  
  
The sudden gasp that came from Relena threw Heero on alert. Upholstering his gun, he whipped around toward the window to find a pair of small brown eyes trying to look in the tinted window.   
  
"Grandfather, are you in there?" Came a muffled child's voice from the other side of the door.  
  
Opening the door, the President emerged from the car, scooping the young girl into his arms. "Hello, Hope. I would like you to meet someone very important." Grabbing hold of Relena's hand, he helped her from the car. "Hope, this is Ms. Relena Peacecraft-Darlian." The young child bowed her head in respect and replied, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Darlian."  
"The pleasure is all mine, Hope."  
  
As the trio made their way toward the main entrance to the mansion, Heero stood next to the car and mentally went over a security checklist in his head. 'This place is too open. Security is going to be a big problem over the next three days.' The sound of an approaching car brought him from his thoughts. He watched as Duo, Hilde, Trowa and Wufei climbed out of the vehicle and made their way toward him.   
  
"Aw man. Guarding this pile of rocks isn't going to be a cake walk." Duo stated as he looked over the house, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun.  
  
****************  
  
She reread the email to make sure that she could tell him the good news. Grabbing the paper off of the printer, she hurried down the hall to his study. Knocking on the door, she waited for permission to enter. When the muffled reply came through the heavy wooden doors, she pulled them open and rushed inside. The door slammed behind her.  
  
"Damnit Alex! How many times have I told you not to let the door slam shut?"  
"I'm sorry, but we just received confirmation. Phase two has been completed and Phase Three was started this morning."  
  
An evil smile danced across his lips has he read the paper that Alex had just handed him. While most people would have cowered, Alex just answered him back with a sly smile of her own. Alex was not like most people because she wasn't human.  
  
He stood up from behind his desk, glass of brandy in his right hand and walked toward her. With his other hand, grabbed her chin and tilted her face up to his.  
  
"It's time, my dear. Time to exact revenge. Die passende Rache: A fitting revenge, don't you think so, my dear Alex?'  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, I know this chapter was shorter than the past three, but I am fighting the beginning symptoms of Writer's Block. I hope this chapter came out better than I think.   
  
  



	11. An Unforgettable Night

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.  
  
Chapter 10  
  
" . . . Peace is not just an ideal. Peace is something that should spread over the land, almost like a wildfire burning out of control. What is needed now are the hearts that hope and strive for a peaceful world . . . "  
  
Heero and Duo stood off to the side of the stage, watching Relena as she gave her speech. Heero was still amazed with the way she could capture an audience and hold their attention. As he leaned against the wall, he focused on her and not her words. She stood so proudly behind the podium. She seemed so at ease in front of an audience that was nearly twice her age. Instead of pulling her hair back, like normal, she let it fall down to her shoulders; it shining in the overhead lights. The sky blue business suit was the same cut as her normal political attire, but something about the way she looked gave her an aura of confidence.  
  
"There's that smile again. Man, you've got it bad." Duo's amused voice brought Heero from his thoughts.  
" . . ." Heero turned his death glare on Duo.  
"I thought you would have figured out by now, that glare doesn't scare me anymore." Duo smirked. But when he came face to face with Heero's gun, he put his hands up in the air. "That, however, still scares me."  
  
The sound of thunderous applause coming from the auditorium grabbed their attention. Turning back toward the stage, they saw Relena bow toward the audience and then make her way toward them.   
  
"Well, that was the last one. No more public speaking on this trip." She said as he drew a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed the sweat from her forehead.  
"Jousan, are you feeling all right?"  
  
She gave Duo a weak smile. "I'm okay. Just a little warm from standing under those lights for so long." A small beeping noise came from her wristwatch. Pushing her sleeve away, she looked at the time. "Sorry, guys, I can't stay and talk but I have to prepare for this evenings gala. I hope you both will be in attendance."  
"We'll be there. Heero and I are working security on the gala tonight."  
"Until tonight then." She turned and stared into Heero's blue eyes only for a moment before she was escorted from the stage.  
  
****************  
  
Half hidden behind one of the marble pillars, Heero stood in the corner of the ballroom, surveying the scene surrounding him. The only lighting came from the crystal chandeliers and the thousands of candles lit about the room. Food was set along banquet size tables, allow people to pick and choose what they desired. Every imaginable type of food adorned tables on one complete side of the ballroom. Heero chuckled to himself as he saw Duo stationed by the food. 'I had a feeling that's where he would be.' An orchestra played a melody of classical music, which was nearly drowned out by the numerous conversations being held. All around him, people were socializing with one another, flitting from group to group like butterflies.  
  
Pulling the collar of the tuxedo, he felt like a pauper crashing a royal party. 'How did Duo manage to get me to agree to this? This was not part of the original mission plan.' Heero only remembered Duo winking at him and mentioning something about working 'undercover.' He scanned the room, spotting Duo standing next to Hilde, his arm draped around her shoulder.   
  
Heero felt a twinge of jealousy and quickly turned away. 'Why am I envious of him?' Already a few of the diplomats' young daughters had walked his way, but after taking one look at his grim mood, they headed in other directions.  
  
The reason for his present state of mood and attire finally arrived at the entrance to the ballroom.  
  
"Vice Foreign Minister, Ms. Relena Peacecraft-Darlian." The footman announced as Relena stepped into view. All conversations in the room halted and all eyes turned to examine the young woman standing at the top of the stairs.  
  
Tiny beaded straps that lay upon her shoulders held up her off-white silk dress. Its bodice was fitted against her slender figure, but flowed from her waist, skimming the floor. Her blond hair had been pulled up into a French twist though some small curls framed her face. Around her neck, she wore a simple silver locket. She carried herself like a princess, under the scrutiny of all in attendance, never once dropping her gaze as she descended the red-carpeted stairs.  
  
Her violet eyes shone brightly as she approached him. Heero audibly swallowed as Relena came closer. 'She's beautiful. How can I remain impassive to her on the outside, when she's twisting me in knots on the inside?' But Heero knew the answer to the question; he didn't tell her his feelings because he would never be her equal. She would always sit on a higher pedestal than himself.  
  
"Good evening, Heero." She extended her hand toward him.  
  
"Good evening, Relena." He grasped her hand and placed a chaste kiss on the inside of her palm. Relena blushed slightly by the intimate gesture. Never before had he shown is affections for her in public. He had thrown her completely off guard. Whispers and murmurs could be heard from all around them as everyone curiously watched the exchange between the princess and the unknown man.  
  
Relena flashed a huge smile and said, "One way to get out of being the center of attention would be to start dancing. Hopefully, others will join in and not just gawk and stare. So, Heero, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?"  
  
Heero never remembered giving her his answer, but he found himself swaying to the music of Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. They floated across the floor, never taking their eyes off one another. Eventually, the bystanders grew tired of watching and soon Relena and Heero weren't the only ones on the floor. After the dance ended and the orchestra began the next song, they bowed and moved away from each other. The President became Relena's new dancing partner, while Heero moved back to the corner; his gazed never faltering from her position.  
  
Eventually, Relena turned down a dance and walked outside onto the balcony. Heero followed, not just because of security purposes, but also because he was drawn to her. Outside, he found her standing next to Quatre, involved in some casual conversation.  
  
"So, who asked who to dance?"  
"I take it you saw the whole thing."  
  
Quatre chuckled. "Kind of hard not to, since you both were the center of attention." After taking a sip of his drink, he continued, "Come on, Relena, answer the question."  
  
Taking a deep breath, she answered, "I did, Quatre. Although a part of me wished he would have asked, I know that I'm just a mission to him." She held her cup tightly in both hands. "Unfortunately, we all have our missions to complete. "  
  
Before Quatre could reply, Relena turned and walked back into the ballroom. Quatre set his glass down on the railing, leaned up against the cool stone and spoke to the shadows. "If you don't show her how much she means to you, you may end up losing her, Heero."  
Of course, as he expected, Quatre received no reply from the shadows.  
  
Soon after Quatre returned to the gala, things started to die down and people started to leave. Relena stood beside the President, saying farewells to various politicians. When all of the guests had left the mansion, Heero escorted Relena to her room.   
  
Heero put his hand on the doorknob and drew his gun at the same time. He pushed the door open and began to check the locks, windows and alarm system to see if any had been tampered with. Relena just stood by, watching him as he continued his inspection. Once he was content that everything was in order, he turned to face her. Their eyes locked and neither one of them moved for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Relena broke the ice.  
  
"Goodnight, Heero."  
  
' "If you don't show her how much she means to you, you may end up losing her, Heero." What am I suppose to do?' He was torn between the emotions that had surfaced at Quatre's words. "Goodnight, Relena." Bowing to her, he walked away. But as he closed the door to her room, only one word came to his mind. 'Coward.'  
  
****************  
  
The moonlight shone through the lace curtains of the huge bay window in her guest room. Relena sat down in the windowsill and moved the curtain away, allowing her to completely view the stars. She closed her eyes and tilted her face up to the moon, almost like she was bathing in the moonbeams as they broke through the window. She still wore her silk evening gown, not ready to remove it and the memories that had been made during the night. As she freed her hair from the numerous bobby pins, she could still feel Heero's arms around her as they twirled across the floor. They last time they had danced like that had been five years earlier at her birthday party.  
  
Heero stood in the shadows of her room, watching her bask in the moonlight. She had the look of an angel, sitting there in a white dress with her hair shining in the evening light. He had been fighting a battle since he left her at the door to her room only an hour earlier. A battle in which he lost. 'What had Odin said me when I was younger? "No matter what happens, act on your feelings. That's why I live by my feelings. That way I don't regret things after the fact. That's the 'right way' to live the moment to the fullest." How could I have forgotten that philosophy, until now?' He knew why he remembered, because the object of his feelings was staring at him.  
  
"Heero, please come stand beside me." He couldn't have denied her simple request even if his life depended on it. On leaden feet, Heero slowly made his way over to Relena. She was now standing, still facing out the window, so he came and stood behind her.  
  
"There were so many nights that I would ask the stars where you were and if I would see you again. Their only answer was silence."  
  
"Relena . . ."  
  
He tentatively put his hand on her semi-bare shoulder. When she didn't pull away from his touch, he let go of the breath that he had been holding. Slowly he rubbed his fingers over the slender column of her neck, causing her to slightly moan. Now he was totally controlled by instinct; logic no longer seemed to exist as his arm slid around her waist, drawing her against him. With his other free hand, he moved away her soft blond hair, totally exposing her neck. His lips gently touched the nape of her neck, then drifted up toward her ear. Pulling away slightly, Heero turned Relena around in his arms, never fully breaking contact with her. He laid his palm against her cheek, slowly running his thumb across her lips.   
  
Relena turned her head, and bent her knees slightly so she could put her lips under his. Heero tilted his head to accommodate the kiss, his mouth fastening hungrily over hers. A series of small weightless kiss gradually gave way to something entirely different. A moan broke past Heero's lips as he pulled back and looked into her sated violet eyes. Snaking his hands through her hair, he held her head still as he lowered his mouth to hers one more time. There was nothing tentative about the movement, the kiss became consuming, mesmerizing. Relena's lips parted as she sighed, giving Heero the long-awaited answer to an unspoken invitation.  
  
As Heero deepened the kiss, he ran his hands across her bare back, his hands running over her warm skin. His hands worked their way up to her shoulders and fumbled with the straps to her dress. Slowly, he pushed them off her shoulders. Breaking the kiss, Heero looked down at her; his body shaking with both need and fear.   
  
A seductive smile crossed Relena's lips as she stared at Heero. "I do believe that the Perfect Soldier has met his match."  
  
WHACK!  
  
Heero never heard the person approach him from behind; he only felt the hard, large object connect with his head. Before everything went black, her name escaped his lips. Relena caught him as he pitched forward. But he fell into her with such force that she lost her balance and fell to the floor with him, breaking his fall. "Heero." She said as she ran a hand through his brown hair, locating a large lump where he had been hit. Carefully, she laid him down on the carpet and stood to face the man standing in the shadows.  
  
A soft chuckle came from somewhere close by. "He always did have a hard head." Relena watched as the figure cloaked in darkness made its way toward her. His smile could be seen in the dark as he addressed her. "Hello, Relena. It's been a while hasn't it?"  
  
  
  
  
  



	12. Painful Clues

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own Gundam Wing. *Sigh*  
  
Chapter 11  
  
He threw the black material of his tuxedo bow tie down on the marble desktop as he sunk into the high back leather chair. Carefully, he undid the top button on the white dress shirt, releasing its confining grip from his neck.  
  
Sighing contently, the President thought back over the events of the past couple of days. The summit was a success; there was no doubt about that. With the help of Relena Darlian, he was able to gain support for some important pieces of legislation that would come under fire at the next ESUN Senate session. She had also managed to calm tempers between the delegates from X-901 and L-537 after a heated debate arose over some trade embargos. He often wondered what would have happened to the world if Relena Darlian wasn't part of it. He had seen how quickly things had come unglued without her nearly a year ago. And the day she walked into his office four months ago, he knew that someone was listening to his prayers.  
  
Picking up the crystal glass of sherry he had carried with him into his study, he took a long liberal sip as he spun the chair around to face the windows. 'Thanks to her, peace has grown from its infancy to childhood. There will be trials ahead, but as long as we follow the explains that she has set, we will one day be able to see peace fully matured.'  
  
He sat there for a while, enjoying the silent solitude of his study. He slightly cracked the window, allowing the symphony of the night dance into the room on the cool night breeze. He leaned back in his chair and listened until the crickets' song began to fade. Downing the last drops of liquor in his glass, he turned back around to his desk.  
  
Smiling at the never-ending stack of papers that graced one corner of his desk, he picked up his pen. 'A President's work is never done.'  
  
As he placed the pen down on the first paper, a quiet knock echoed through the soundless room. "Come in." He signed his name on the dotted line.  
  
Raising his gaze, he noticed the young woman who entered the room wore a Preventers' uniform. She looked straight ahead, focusing all of her attention directly at his face. "I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. President, but there has been a security breach. We need to move you to a safer location."  
  
"What about my guests?"  
"All of the guest have or are already being escorted to secure locations as we speak."   
  
Turning his back on the brunette, he removed his briefcase from the stand and placed in on the desk, hurriedly stuffing it with papers.  
  
Suddenly, a hand clamped around his neck, while another placed a rag over his mouth and nose. The putrid smell of chloroform burned he nostrils and throat as his eyes began to water.   
  
"You won't be needing your briefcase where you are going." The emotionless voice declared in his ear.  
  
Desperate to get free, the President kicked and wildly jerked his body in different directions. But no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to get the young women to break her hold. Arms like steel traps kept his body glued against hers as he continued to struggle. 'It's like she isn't even human.' Finally, exhausted from the lack of oxygen and over exertion, the President slowly closed his eyes and slumped in his captor's arms.   
  
Laying him on the carpet, she placed her hand on his wrist, checking his pulse. A strong pulse beat against her fingers, reassuring her that the President was still indeed alive. "Sorry, but it's not your time to die . . .yet."  
  
The sound of light applause coming from the doorway grabbed her attention. Whipping around quickly with her gun drawn, she identified her audience. Gradually, she greeted the man with a smile.  
  
"Well done, my dear Alex. You have surpassed even my greatest expectations. Imperfect soldiers with their flaws and mistakes are a thing of the past. Consider yourself the blueprints for the future. "  
  
"I'm only following orders, sir."  
  
"And you do it so well." Turning around, he walked back into the darkness of the hallway. "Make sure you leave our calling card, Alex. We have much to take care of before morning."  
  
She pulled a small flower out of her uniform and placed it on the President's chair. Lifting the unconscious man in her arms, Alex made her way out of the study and followed her creator.  
  
****************  
  
The shrill noise of the communicator brought Duo out of his deep sleep. He lay there for a minute, trying to tone-out the awful sound. 'Maybe if I ignore them, they'll go away.' Pulling Hilde tighter against his body, he willed the communicator to be quiet and let him enjoy his sleep.  
  
"Duo, you really need to let go of me and answer that damn thing." Hilde grumbled into her pillow.  
"They can wait." Duo said as he snuggled deeper into the blankets.  
  
"If you don't answer that, I will hold out on you for an entire month." With the ultimatum thrown in his face, Duo reluctantly uncurled himself from around Hilde's body and reached over to the nightstand.  
  
Before he flipped the device on, he turned back to Hilde. "It's not fair that you can hold sex over my head so easily." He muttered.  
  
She rolled her head over on the pillow and faced him. "Yes, it is! You have those puppy-eyes and you use them on me constantly. Turn about is fair play."  
  
Duo looked at her with his pouty lip and wide blue eyes. Hilde sighed as she pushed herself out of the bed. "Sorry Maxwell, but the puppy-eyes don't work on me at 3:00am."  
  
Hanging his head in defeat, Duo turned his attention toward the communicator.  
  
"This better be EXTREMELY important, Trowa."  
"Duo, the President has been kidnapped."  
"Well, that's important enough. We're on our way to meet up with you."  
"Duo, one other thing."  
"Yea?"  
"We've been unable to make contact with Heero."  
Duo's eyes widened in surprise. "It's not like Heero to ignore a page. I'll go look for him."  
"Right. Trowa out."  
  
Duo turned and found Hilde standing behind him. A small smile was on her face as she held out some clothes for him. "Before you go looking for Heero, I think you need to make yourself more . . . presentable."  
  
Grabbing the clothes from Hilde, Duo quickly got dressed and left the bedroom.  
He muttered a few colorful words as his long stride carried him down the hallway. Duo reached into his pocket and pulled out the hand held communicator again.  
  
"Heero, it's Duo. Where the hell are you?"  
Silence.  
"Damnit Heero, answer me!"  
  
Again there was no answer. Duo started to grow more concerned. Heero never turned off the COM and he would always acknowledge a page. Now, he was nearly running down the hallway.  
  
As he rounded the corner toward Relena's bedroom, the tiny hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. 'Something's not right.' The uneasiness crawled further up his spine as he stopped in front of the bedroom door. Drawing his gun in his right hand, Duo placed his other hand on the doorknob and threw the door open.  
  
****************  
  
Pain.  
  
That was the first thing he felt as he started to regain consciousness. Heero knew that if he was feeling pain that he was still alive. His head was a jumbled mess of images as he tried to clear the cobwebs from his mind. 'What in the hell happened?' He quickly looked around the room and realized something very important was missing.   
  
"RELENA!" His declaration came out as an angry whisper.   
  
Pushing himself up into a seated position, Heero replayed the last couple of minutes before he was knocked out. And he berated himself for being too distracted to not notice the intruder. He rubbed the back of his head and felt the massive lump. While cursing himself for a fool, Heero began to rise off of the floor.   
  
He was still a little shaky when the bedroom door burst open and a shadowed figured came charging inside, with their weapon drawn. On instant, Heero reached to his side looking for his firearm, which wasn't there. So instead he rushed the intruder.  
  
With a solid thump, the both of them ended up on the floor of the bedroom. Heero grabbed the gun away from the other man and pointed it in his face.  
  
"Heero . . . could you . . . please get that . . . gun out of . . . MY FACE!" Duo yelled as he tried to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him.   
  
Surprised, Heero lowered the weapon and looked into the angry face of the God of Death. Switching the safety back on the gun, Heero handed it back to Duo as he picked himself off the floor.   
  
Duo glared at Heero as he got up and dusted off his black pants, placing his gun in his holster. "Where in the hell have you been? We've been trying to get in contact with you. A situation has developed. The President's been kidnapped . . ." Duo's voice trailed off as he took in the quiet room around him. A questioning eyebrow rose over one cobalt eye.   
  
"Where's Relena?"  
  
"My guess is that's she's with the President." Heero stated as he brushed by Duo, heading out of the bedroom.   
  
Following Heero's lead, Duo strode out of the Relena's room, pulling the door closed behind him.  
  
****************  
  
  
Trowa and Hilde where standing at the entrance to the President's study when they arrived. They both looked up from the paperwork they were going over when they heard the soft footfalls of Duo and Heero approaching. Hilde looked up at Duo with a tiny smile of her face, which instantly died when she saw concern on his face and a fierce determination on Heero's. A silent communication passed between Duo and Hilde, but the verbal one between the other two Preventers confirmed everything.  
  
"Relena?" Trowa simply asked.  
  
"Gone." The monotone voice replied. "Update me on the current situation."  
  
A flicker of emotion quickly showed in Trowa's green eyes before he continued on. "About 30 minutes ago, the guard detail changed. When the guard arrived to relieve the President's personal escort, he found the man lying in the hallway. His neck had been completely broken and a clean break at that. Estimated time of abduction is about 02:00. Shortly after the gala ended. Looks like the President put up a struggle."  
  
Trowa lead the way into the study. Papers were lying on the floor. The President's briefcase was lying on its side next to the desk. Although the he may have tried to fight off his attacker, the President failed to escape.  
  
"Any signs of blood?"  
"None. The luminol turned up nothing."  
"Prints?"  
"We've dusted the entire room. Only four sets of prints were found. The President's, Relena's, and the two guards that were on duty today."  
  
As the others walked further into the study, Heero hung back by the entryway. Sitting down on his heels, he inspected the wooded doorframe, focusing most of his attention around the lock.   
  
"No forced entry here. Inside job." He mumbled to no one in particular.   
  
A shadow loomed over him as he began to stand. Turning up his face, he saw Duo looking down at him. "You know what Heero, sometimes your powers of deduction amaze me."  
  
Rising to his full height, Heero rolled his eyes at Duo's snide comment and continued his way into the office. All around him, people searched for clues. Turning over books and pictures; going through his paperwork and computer files. Hoping to find a tracer, listening device, or a miniature camera, anything that could give them a possible lead.   
  
But deep down, most of them knew who was responsible: Die passende Rache.  
  
He continued to move through the room, oblivious to everything around him, drawn to the window sitting behind the President's desk. Although the window was closed, Heero could feel the chill in the air crawl in his direction. He moved his fingers over the smooth panes of glass, noticing his warm finger left streaks across the cool surfaces. Again, he found nothing out of the ordinary. No cut or loose glass. No marks along the stone frame; no jimmied locks.   
  
Something sinister was in this room tonight. He could swear he could feel its presence still lurking in the corners somewhere. Heero clenched his hands, keeping his fists at his side. Not only did they have the President, but they had Relena too, he was sure of it.   
  
And what were they left with? Nothing. Nothing but the sneaky suspicion that this was the act of one renegade group. The same one they had been searching for the past four months.  
  
Heero punched the side of the President's leather chair, causing it to pivot around with the seat of the chair directly facing him. The only outward show of his emotions was the slightly widening of his eyes that quickly turned to narrowed slits of burning blue on his face. He leaned over and picked up the small yellow daisy from the chair. It's fragrance reached his nose and took him back in time. The pale yellow petals brought back harsh memories, ones he had tried to bury, but always sat stewing just beneath the surface.  
  
Duo stood watching the play of emotions across Heero's face as he picked up the tiny flower that had been lying in the chair. As his face grew paler, Duo made is way across the room and stopped with the desk standing between them.   
  
He heard someone call his name. It barely broke through the disturbing images that played over and over in his head. "Heero?" The voice called again, the concern in it registered. Heero blinked a couple of times and slightly shook his head as Duo's face appeared in front of him. Color returned to his cheeks, but the coldness did not melt from his eyes.  
  
"I know where they've been taken." The flower, now crushed from deadly grasp of his grip, fell silently to the floor as Heero ran out of the room.  
  
  
********************************************************************  
  
A/N: Okay, I was assured that I didn't go to far OOC with Heero in the ending of this chapter. I know a lot of you have questions: Who's the mysterious guy? And what is his tie to Alex? Who's side is Alex on for that matter? What's going on with Relena? I promise that most of these questions will be answered in the next chapter. So please, hang in there!! Thanks a bunch you guys! I hope to have the next chapter out soon!  
  



	13. Eveything to Lose

Disclaimer: I still don't own them and sadly enough, I never will.   
  
Chapter 12   
  
The last time he saw this place, it was completely engulfed in fire. The sounds of explosions and soldier's painful screams had filled his ears, but they had never reached his heart.   
  
Only the silence that came from the ruins of a nearby apartment building the following morning had seeped into his soul.   
  
Yes, Heero Yuy has a soul. It's hard to believe but as he lifted up the battered and broken body of a little puppy into his arms, he knew he was human. He was unable to find her, her body lost in the wreckage of his failed mission, but she lived inside of him; a ghost that he dealt with everyday.   
  
From the field of wild yellow daisies, Heero could see the remains of the mobile suit factor and the memorial that had been erected at the site where the apartments once stood.   
  
The artificial sunlight winked off the smooth sides of the metal structure. It was a simple monument with a huge significance. Atop the metal spire was a golden torch. Unlike other memorial and monuments that stood on Earth, there was an actual fire burning brightly from the torch.   
  
After the failed Barton Family Coup, the people of this colony built this torch for remembrance. Heero had never visited the memorial in person, but the words etched in the base of the metal spire were engraved in his mind.   
  
"May the innocent lives lost in the battle for peace, find their places among the stars. For as long as the fire burns, peace will always remain in our hearts."   
  
Tilting his head, Heero turned his attention back toward the abandoned base. Unlike the beautiful memorial that stood only 100 feet away, the grounds of the base seemed covered in a constant shadow. Piles of rubble lay next to half demolished buildings. Hollow skeletons of mobile suits lay on their sides; picked apart by metal salvagers. Ever once in a while, a piece of broken glass would glisten in the sunlight. The buildings that remain standing were overgrown with ivy; taunting him over his failed mission.   
  
Duo stared intently at his friend from the corner of his eye. No one knew the whole truth about Heero's past or the significance of this place. But when Heero had demanded a shuttle to the colony, no one denied him. Heero was known about his 'hunches' about certain situations. The only glitch in his plan, was that Duo insisted on accompanying him; wild goose chase or not.   
  
Running his hand through his spiky chestnut bangs, he turned a puzzled look toward Heero. "Are you sure they're being held somewhere in the pile of bricks? You know what buddy? You sure know how to blow things up." Duo tilted his head toward the base.   
  
Heero's gaze narrowed but never lost focus on the cluster of half demolished buildings that had survived his attack.   
  
"There are only two people that know about the significance of that flower." Sighing, he continued. "One of which is dead. The other is Doctor J."   
  
"Dr. J?" Duo stared at his friend completely slack jawed. "You don't think that he could be behind all of this, do you?"   
  
Heero closed his eyes and lowered his head. "No, Duo. I don't think Dr. J is behind any of this. This isn't his style. If he wanted something from me, he wouldn't be playing games, he'd be direct."   
  
Silence hung heavily between them as Heero lifted his head and looked at Duo. "This was never an attack against peace itself. It was an attack against me."   
  
Duo watched as Heero began walking toward the compound. "I believe it's time to find out who's been pulling my strings."   
  
****************   
  
The only logically place to look was the single dull gray building that stood tall against the backdrop of the colony. The mobile suit housing facility. It was the one building that he failed to destroy in his mission. Its dull gray exterior mocked him as they made their way into the deteriorating building.   
  
Numerous offices had been ransacked, computers ripped from walls or destroyed by the blast. The few windows along the outer walls had been blown inward, the effects of an explosion from outside the building. Glass and singed papers still littered the main corridor that lead into the warehouse, where the completed mobile dolls were housed when the plant was still operational.   
  
Pale light shone from the doorway, spilling onto the floor. Heero leaned up against the wall, pulling his gun from the waistband of his jeans. Turning his intense gaze to Duo, he nodded, signaling that he would enter first and that Duo was to follow. Slowly, Heero made his way around the corner.   
  
Under a solitary light bulb, the President sat; his hands tied behind his back, his legs tied tightly to the chair. His chin rested against his chest, either in defeat or lack of consciousness, Heero wasn't sure. A dark cloth served as a blindfold. Before Heero even entered the room, he realized it was a trap.   
  
He kept his gun in his hand as he casually walked into the room. Duo stared at him in stunned silence from the wall as he watched Heero nearly saunter into the hanger. Duo whirled around the corner and jogged into the room, catching up with Heero as he made his way toward the President.   
  
"It's a trap, isn't it?"   
"Hn."   
"That's what I thought. So what's the plan?"   
"Take the President and get out of here."   
"What about you?"   
"I have to take care of some business."   
  
Heero stopped directly in front of the President and pulled off the blindfold. The elderly man blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to become accustomed to the light. He sent both of them a wistful smile. "I thought my old ears were playing tricks on me."   
  
Duo undid the leg restraints as Heero cut the rope holding the President's hands. "Nope. This is an old fashioned rescue." Straighten up; Duo grabbed hold of the President's arms bringing him to his feet. The old man's knees buckled, but Duo leaned him up against his side. Turning to Heero, he said, "If you're not out in 15, I'm coming back."   
  
"You need not worry yourself about Heero Yuy's welfare, Mr. Maxwell." The voice echoed from the shadows.   
  
Duo looked out of the corner of his eyes. "I take it this was the company you were expecting."   
  
"For the most part. Get the President out of here."   
  
"You got it." With the elderly man leaning up against him, Duo fled the hanger, leaving Heero behind to face the nameless enemy. As he entered the hallway, Duo felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Was it a warning for Heero, or him?   
  
****************   
  
Heero tucked his gun in the waistband in the back of his pants. He scanned the shadows that surrounded him, searching for the source of the voice. His eyes narrowed as he tried to pierce the veil of darkness that enclosed around him.   
  
"Not much of a perfect soldier, are you?" The voice mocked. "You see, a perfect soldier would be capable of using and expanding all of his senses to beyond their normal capacity. An ideal soldier would be able to fight with his emotions, but not let them control him. A perfect warrior would never make mistakes, would he, Heero Yuy?"   
  
To his left, he saw movement as two figures began to move out of the shadows. His narrowed gaze widened as he saw Relena standing next to a middle-aged man, her head hung down, her short blond hair hiding part of her face. Heero pulled his attention off of Relena and focused on the man standing next to her.   
  
He stood about 6'2", with a fairly athletic frame for his age, which Heero guessed as about mid 40's. His pitch-black hair was dusted with spots of gray, along with the short mustache that adorned his face. The glasses he wore caught the light from the lone bulb, reflecting the light back at Heero, not allowing him to see the eyes of his enemy.   
  
"Who the hell are you?"   
  
The man snickered at blunt question. "Don't you wish you knew."   
  
He released the hard grip on Relena's arm and roughly pushed her toward Heero. Instinctively, Heero's reached out to catch Relena in his arms. He barely had time to notice her sinister smile as she brought her face up and smashed her fist into his stomach.   
  
****************   
  
"Just a couple of more turns, Mr. President."   
  
Duo looked at the man leaning heavily against his side. The President looked exhausted, each step he took seemed to take more and more energy out of him. 'Hopefully we can make it out of the building and to the vehicle before he collapses.' The idea of carrying the slightly overweight man the rest of the way wasn't very appealing.   
  
Leaning against the wall, Duo decided to let him catch his breath before they continued out of the main entrance. He could see the light streaming in through the open door. 'Almost home.' Placing his arm around the President's waist, Duo lifted him back up and started trudging toward the door.   
  
Through narrow eyes, Duo watched as a shadow walked into the light, stopping in the middle of the doorway, hands on their hips.   
  
"Look buddy, I really don't have time to kick your ass, so if you would be kind enough to move out of the way..." Duo growled.   
  
The sound of feminine laughter drifted down the hall toward him. "Duo, you know I can't just let you waltz out of here. That would be a direct violation of my orders." Slowly, the figure walked out of the light and into the dim hallway. As the light pulled away, Duo stared in shock and anger at the person that stood in front of him.   
  
"Alex?"   
  
Alex raised her eyebrows and smiled. "I'm glad to see that you remember me, Duo."   
  
Duo felt the President shudder beside him. "That's her! She's the one that kidnapped me!"   
  
"Why is it all the good looking girls are always the bad girls?" Duo muttered under his breath. Allowing the President to slide to the floor, he took a protective stance over him. Alex continued to stand directly in front of him; her face expressionless.   
  
Duo's gazed narrowed as he continued to look at his enemy. "I've never hit a lady before, but I'm going to have to make a exception in your case."   
  
Taking a fighting stance, Alex answered him back. "I've never claimed to be a lady."   
  
Looking at him, she cocked her finger in his direction, telling him to make the first move. A dangerous glint appeared in Duo's eyes, as he charged forward. At the last minute, Alex ducked to the floor and did a leg sweep, knocking Duo off balance. Quickly coming to her feet, Alex caught him in the back of the neck with a stiff-arm chop.   
  
Duo felt his head snap backward the second her arm connected with his neck. The move knocked the wind out of him as he fell to the unforgiving stone floor. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the tread of the bottom of her boot press into the tender skin of his neck. The pressure she was applying, made it harder for him to breath. Duo tried to fight off the darkness that closed around him.   
  
"He was correct. You are a better pilot then a fighter." Alex's monotone voice echoed off the walls, drowning out the whimpering sounds coming from the President.   
  
And then everything went black.   
  
****************   
  
The iron taste of blood in his mouth was nothing new, but it tasted extremely bitter. The reason for its bitter taste was standing over his body, her violet eyes laughing at him as she slammed her knee into his side once again.   
  
Heero fought ever instinct in his body not to fight her back. No matter what they had done to her mind, she was still Relena.   
  
"Enough, Relena."   
  
She stopped with her knee half way through the swing and continued to stand over him. "I don't want you to finish your job, yet. We have to wait for Alex to return." The amusement was apparent in the man's voice as he sat in the chair and watched the scene unfold, acting as the director while they were all puppets.   
  
The sound of heavy footsteps soon filled the room. Heero strained to turn his head and spat more blood onto the ground. He watched as Alex walked into the room; carry both Duo and the President over her shoulders, with very little effort. Duo was no lightweight, Heero knew that for sure and his guess of the President's weight was about 75 pounds heavier than Duo. 'What is she?'   
  
Alex dumped both of the unconscious men onto the floor, propping them up against the wall closet to Heero. As she walked past him, she smiled and kicked him in his other side. The man stood up from the chair as Alex took her place next to his side.   
  
"Well, Heero Yuy, you wanted answers, didn't you?" Pulling the glasses off his face, he looked at Heero with the same intense green eyes that Alex had just seconds ago. "My name is Dante Petrov, but my name isn't familiar to you, is it? But you'll figure that out soon enough. But first let me introduce you to Alex."   
  
Placing his hand on her shoulder, he continued, "Alex is very special, did you know that? Artificial Life-form Epsilon Ten; or ALEX for short. She's my prized creation, an android, if you will. But she's so much more than that. Alex is the ultimate fighting machine, capable of so much more than any 'perfect soldier' ever could do." Petrov nearly spat out the words 'perfect soldier' in his short speech.   
  
Heero's eyes narrowed as he was forced to listen to the mad man's ranting. "Have you ever taken a good look at her, Heero?" Motioning to Relena, she grabbed a fist full of his dark hair and pulled Heero up into a nearly sitting position. Alex left his side and stooped down in front of Heero.   
  
"Take a good look at her, Heero. For if you look close enough, you'll see the face of my daughter. The one you killed!"   
  
Heero's memories flashed in front of him, the face of the young girl with her dog appearing, only to fade and be replaced with a similar face staring into his face.   
  
"The flower..."   
  
"Yes, the flower. She told me about the young man she meet in the field near the factory and how she had given him a flower to cheer up his day, like I had done numerous times with her mother." Petrov paused to collect his thoughts; control his rage. "I was downtown when you blew up the factory. Mistakes, your mistakes killed my family. In the matter on 5 minutes, I lost everything. My wife, my daughter and my life. And its time for payback."   
  
He moved over to where Duo and the President lay slumped against the wall. "A fitting revenge...die passende rache. I have been planning this for a long time; to take away everything with meaning from you. What would be a fitting revenge against you?"   
  
Relena and Alex grabbed Heero, pulling him to his feet. Heero watched as Alex pulled out a gun and tossed it to her creator. Raising the gun and bringing it level with the President's heart, Petrov laughed. "How about destroying the symbol for the peace that you 'fought' so hard for? The fragile peace that is sewn together by a tiny thread." The sound of the single gunshot resounded throughout the room. The President's eyes immediately opened and a strangled cry broke the silence in the room as the pain radiated through his entire body. Placing his hand over his heart, he desperately tried to steam to the flow of blood that stained his white shirt a deep crimson color. The light in his eyes dulled as the blood began to puddle underneath of him. His final breath rang in Heero's ears as his body slumped to the floor.   
  
As the lifeless body of the President lay on the cold floor, Petrov flipped open the chamber of the gun, dumping the remaining five bullets to the floor. "I love a good game of Russian Roulette, don't you?" Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out one single bullet. The light blinked of the silver casing as he placed the bullet into the chamber of the gun and locked it into place. Petrov undid the safety on the gun and ran the chamber along the sleeve of the jacket.   
  
"Let's see, what else could I possible do to you? How about taking away your peaceful 'queen', the woman you love, and change her to a hateful assassin?" Alex grabbed hold of Heero's arms pinning them behind his back. He tried to struggle against her, but he was no match for a machine. Relena appeared in front of him, a seductive smile played across her lips. She lifted a small white pill to her mouth, placing it between her teeth. His eyes widened as Relena leaned toward him, placing her lips on his. She grabbed his jaw, forcing his mouth open and quickly spitting the pill inside. Keeping her lips on his, she allowed enough time for the pill to dissolve on his tongue. She licked his lips as she pulled away.   
  
Heero tried to spit out the chalking taste that lingered in his mouth, but to no avail. He had no idea what Relena had given him, but he could already feel its affects. His head felt detached from his body, his vision became blurry and a cold sweat and chills began to rack his body. Heero watched as Petrov moved over to Duo's body and grabbed a hold of his long braid. Pulling out a knife, he hacked off half of the braid, throwing at Heero was he took a few steps back from Duo's unconscious form.   
  
"And, how about killing your best friend?" Pointing the gun at Duo, he turned to Heero. "None of this will ever be enough payment for what you've done to me, but it makes me feel better."   
  
Heero watched through the closing tunnel of darkness as Petrov slowly pulled back the trigger. The last sound Heero heard before he passed out was the deafening 'click' of the gun.   
  
  
****************   
  
A/N: Okay before you grab the pitchforks and chase me around for cutting off Duo's hair, please let me tell you how hard it was for me to type that! I blame it all on my muse, Karick, who has taken it upon himself to throw me into the abyss of angst. Oh, BTW, sorry this chapter took forever to post, it's been a crazy past couple of months. Hopefully, the next part won't take me as long...until then TTFN! 


	14. Prelude to a Final Battle

Disclaimer: *Holds empty hands out* Nope, I don't have the copyrights for any of this, so guess that means I don't own them. *Sigh*  
  
Chapter 13  
  
"How much longer are you going to lie there?"  
  
The soft monotone voice rang in his ears, jarring him from his thoughts. Frustration grew inside him. Frustration toward everyone; his friends, her and most importantly, himself. Most of his anger was directed at himself. He had become weak and it was all her fault. He had always pictured her becoming his friend, his lover. Never would he have dreamed that she would have become his enemy.   
  
Heero's hands clenched into white knuckled fists as they lay on the starched bed sheets beside him.  
  
"How long are you going to stand there and stare at me?"  
  
Trowa snickered at the deadly tone of voice the occupant of the hospital bed had tossed in his direction. Pushing off the doorframe, Trowa made his way further into the room. Once he was close enough, he tossed a manila folder onto Heero's out stretched legs. "To answer your question, I plan on standing here for as long as it takes you to read over the material in the folder. Then you can answer my question."  
  
Heero opened his eyes and found intense green eyes staring down into his face. Sitting up, he grabbed the file marked 'CONFIDENTIAL PREVENTERS FILE: DANTE PETROV.' As he flipped open the front cover and began to scan the documents, Trowa gave him a run down of the file.  
  
"Dr. Dante F. Petrov, 43. Graduate of numerous universities within the L1 cluster. He has Masters and PHD degrees in Bioengineering, Chemistry, Manufacturing Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics...the list goes on. Says he received his first degree, manufacturing engineering, at the age of 16 under a Barton Foundation scholarship. After graduation, Petrov started working for the Barton Foundation on the designs for the MS. He continued his education, gathering the rest of the degrees, that way he was able to advance the designs for the MS. He met his wife, Carla, while working for the Foundation. Together they had a daughter, Alexandra. Both his wife and daughter were killed during an attack on the MS factory on L1."   
  
Trowa watched Heero when he mentioned the attack, but Heero continued to flip through the pages in the file. Clearing his throat, Trowa sat down in the bed side chair and continued.  
  
"After the plant was destroyed, Petrov disappeared from the public eye. It's rumored that he went underground, contracting his services to whichever side was winning or paying more." Trowa paused, catching Heero's attention. "He's worked for everyone; Oz, The White Fang, The Barton and Romefeller Foundations. Petrov may have had a hand in helping to design the Taurus, Space Leo's, Epyon, the Serpents and the Zero System."  
  
The only outward display of emotions was the quick widening and narrowing of his deep Prussian blue eyes. The idea of Petrov involved with the Zero System didn't sit well with Heero. But it explained too much, like how all of a sudden Relena viewed him, the rest of the pilots and the ESUN in general as enemies. It was because she had been 'taught' they were the enemy, that's why Petrov had been able to control her so easily.  
  
He turned back to the file and found a picture amongst the papers. The edges were slightly worn and some of the color had faded but her small bright green eyes stared back at him. Petrov stood beside his wife, his arm wrapped around her waist. And standing in front of them was Alex. Her green eyes sparkled with laughter while her long brown hair had been pulled back into pigtails. A brown shaggy puppy sat by her feet. Heero's fingers tightened around the photo.  
  
"Have you found him yet?"  
  
"His trail was easy enough to follow. He's hiding out on one of the remnants of MO III. We can leave as soon as you're ready."  
  
Heero closed the file and laid it next to him on the bed. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, he winced when he pushed himself into a standing position. Trowa knew better then to offer his friend a shoulder to lean on. Instead, he picked up the bag holding Heero's clothes and placed it in the bathroom. Heero nodded to Trowa as he passed him and entered the bathroom. About 15 minutes later, Heero emerged from the bathroom, slightly grimacing as he pulled on his black jacket.  
  
"He didn't make it, did he?"  
  
The question caught Trowa off guard. It only took him a couple of seconds to follow the flow of the conversation. "No. He was dead when we arrived."  
  
"Has there been an announcement yet?"  
  
"Sometime later today. The Public Affairs Department is trying to find a way to keep the fact that Relena is linked to his death out of the press. They're afraid of the chaos this will cause since the ESUN hasn't been on stable ground as of late."  
  
"Hn."  
  
They started to exit the room when a flash of tan and green went streaking by, came to a sliding halt and turned to face them. Cornflower blue eyes took both of them and held them captive while she stormed down the hall toward them. Clutched in her right hand was about two feet of a chestnut colored braid.  
  
Hilde stopped directly in front of Heero; her eyes never left his face. He stared down at her and noticed the red-rimmed eyes, the purple marks marring the pale skin above her cheeks. He felt his stomach lurch as his eyes drifted down toward the length of hair she held tightly in her hand.  
  
Heero opened his mouth to address her, but Hilde threw her left hand up in front of him.  
  
"Don't you dare say anything, Heero Yuy!" She tried to control the volume and the anger in her voice, but failed. "Before you say one word to me, answer me this question. I want the truth, do you think he's still alive?"  
  
She thrust Duo's braid toward him. Hilde sent him a pleading look as the tears filled her eyes. Heero gently pushed her right hand back to her.  
  
"He's still alive. He's become a toy, a pawn in this game. Petrov isn't done using Duo yet."  
  
Momentary relief washed over Hilde's face. Her eyes narrowed as she took a quick glance at Duo's braid in her hand. "I have some business with Dr. Petrov, myself."  
  
"Good, then let's go." Turning, Heero strode down the hallway with Trowa and Hilde following him. They walked through the hospital in silence, but Heero's mind was screaming.  
  
Could he do it? If he had to come face to face with Relena, would he be able to fight her? Would he be able to remember that she was now the enemy or would his thawed heart not allow him to see her as nothing but the woman he loved?  
  
***************  
  
Duo lay on his side in his tiny cell; his hands secured behind his back, his ankles tied together. Stuck in complete darkness, he tried to picture Hilde's gentle face and warm eyes, hoping the thoughts of her would help dull the pain that ran through his body. But pictures of Heero lying lifeless on the compound floor kept interrupting. Images of Relena standing over Heero's still body with her head thrown back, laughing.  
  
That image made his blood turn cold, but to get it boiling again, all he had to do was reach up and touch the vacant place where his braid used to lay.  
  
"Damn dirty bastard!" He hissed under his breath. He swallowed hard, even his throat hurt. He wasn't able to guess how long he'd been locked up in the cell, but he guess about two days based on how often Alex or Relena would come in and beat him within an inch of his life. He preferred Relena to Alex, at least then it was flesh against flesh, instead of metal against bone.  
  
The silence was the most unnerving part of being held hostage. It gave him too much time to think about things. Closing his swollen eyes, Duo began to hum one of Hilde's bawdy German drinking songs. On the third verse of the song, the sound of footsteps coming down the corridor halted his tune.  
  
Using his sore muscles, Duo pushed himself into a sitting position facing the door. The footsteps stopped outside his cell. He heard the key turn in the lock and was assaulted by bright light when the door was flung open. Squinting against the light, Duo tried to make out the face of his tormentor.  
  
"Here for another round, are you?" Duo's hoarse voice filled the cell.  
  
Relena stepped out of the white light and into the dull cell. Her mouth turned up into a cocky half smile. "Testy today?"  
  
Duo shot her a malicious look. "Damn straight!"  
  
Relena lashed out with her leg, catching him in his sore ribs. He grimaced in pain as he fell back onto his side. She chuckled as she watched him roll over and curl up into a protective ball. Duo spat in her direction as she roughly nudged him with her foot. Relena took the insult personally. Lifting her foot over his face, she was poised to bring it down against his jaw.  
  
"Do your worst, Princess."  
  
Her foot stopped above his face. Duo cringed, waiting for the heel of her boot to crash into the side of his face but it never came. He cracked his eyes open to see her put her foot down on the ground next to his body. Relena's eyes darted around the tiny cell; not really focusing on anything, they seemed lost and distant. Her hands clenched and unclenched into fists, her fingernails cutting into the soft skin of her palms, drawing blood. Without a second thought, she turned and fled out of the room.  
  
Alex flashed her a puzzled look as she hurried out of the doorway. Moving from her station at the end of the hall, Alex stopped beside Relena and waited for her orders. Relena's hands found their way up to her temples and were squeezing against the flood of images and emotions that ran through her head. She closed her eyes, a lone tear slid down her face. Removing her hands she forced herself to gain control of her ragged breathing. She felt Alex's presence at her side. Something was wrong, her entire body was shaking and her mind was twisting things. She had to get out and clear her thoughts.  
  
"Alex, deal with the prisoner." Turning on her heel, Relena left the cellblock, leaving Duo alone with Alex.  
  
From his cell, Duo hadn't witnessed anything that had taken place; he'd only heard the orders for Alex to continue the punishment. He was just as confused as Relena, wondering what caused her to flee. All he had said was Princess and she took of running. Was that it? Had he sparked her memory?  
  
Alex appeared in the doorway, the bright light still acting as a backdrop behind her. She walked over toward Duo, pulling out a pair of wire cutters from the pocket of her pants. Leaning over his body, she cut the wire ties that bound his hand and feet. She then placed her hands under his arms and brought him to his feet. Alex chuckled as she watched him sway as he tried to regain his balance.  
  
Once he was steady on his feet, she smiled at him. "Where did Relena leave off?" She asked him as she looked up toward the ceiling and placed a finger on the side of her cheek. Acting as if an idea struck her, she exclaimed, "I remember!"  
  
Without breaking her motion, she threw a punch out toward Duo's face. He leaned to the side and ducked the punch, however he didn't move fast enough to miss the blow as her fist buried itself into his stomach.  
  
Duo coughed and slumped against her, struggling for breath. Alex sidestepped him, allowing him to fall face first onto the floor.  
  
"I love it when you fight back." She said as she brought the heel of her boot down into the small of his back.  
  
His scream echoed through out the holding.  
  
****************  
  
Relena stood at the window staring out into the vast emptiness of space. Though she wore long black leggings and a maroon turtleneck, a chill still found a way up her spine.  
  
"Relena... Take a good look outside. And remember how beautiful Earth looks from above it."  
  
Her head shot up and she released her hold on the window frame. "Where did that come from?" The question became lost in the silence as she brought her hand up against the cool glass of the window.  
  
'All of this started when Maxwell called me 'Princess.' How could one simple word cause this much pain, confusion, anger and loneliness?'  
  
Relena's eyes sought answers from the constellations, but none of them seemed willing to give her an answer. Sighing, she turned to leave when his face appeared in front of her.  
  
"I will kill you."  
"Heero! Hurry, please come and kill me!"  
  
She clamped her eyes shut as the images and emotions began to assault her all over again. Images of war, oppression, fear, peace, freedom, life and death floated around in her head. Then images of her enemies appeared and with each face, strange emotions and feelings were evoked.  
  
Quatre Winner, pilot 04. Kindness and determination.  
Trowa Barton, pilot 03. Loyalty and unpretentious.  
Chang Wufei, pilot 05. Courage and Honor.  
Duo Maxwell, pilot 02. Friendship and laughter.  
  
And Pilot 01, Heero Yuy. Strength and Love.  
  
Relena groaned as her mind was attacked with so many contradictions. She slapped her hands over her ears and screamed, trying to drive the madness away. 'What's happening to me? It feels like my mind is coming apart.' Relena slid against the wall as her knees gave out. Her hands smacked the floor as she leaned forward and tried to control the shakes coursing through her body and calm her breathing.  
  
After a couple of minutes, her body stopped shaking and her heart had slowed down. Shaking her head, she picked herself off the floor and brushed the dirt from her pants. Things seemed more confusing now then they had before. What did all of those images mean? Hearing the gentle hiss of the door to the corridor, Relena swung around quickly to find Dr. Petrov and Alex making their way toward her. She pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead, pushing away the last of the confusing images.  
  
Petrov cocked his head slightly to the side and gave her a concerned look. "Is everything alright, Relena?"  
  
"Just a headache, sir." She replied as she removed her hand from her face.  
  
"Good. I need you in top form. Our guests are on their way. ETA is in about 6 hours." Petrov glanced between both Alex and Relena. "He'll be leading the charge and he'll have most of the Preventer force and the Gundam pilots behind him."  
  
Relena looked him straight in the eye, her face void of all emotions. "Don't worry, sir. Heero Yuy will be taken care of. Alex will handle the other pilots that will come for the prisoner. The only thing you need to worry about is the attack on the Preventer force."  
  
Petrov grinned. "Your confidence amazes me, my dear. Very well then, you're dismissed."  
  
Bowing slightly, Relena nodded her acknowledgement toward him before she headed down the corridor toward the training room. Alex waited until the automatic door closed behind her before voicing her observations.  
  
"The training is wearing off. She's starting to question herself and her motives. Should we give her another dose of the treatment?"  
  
Petrov turned toward the mirror image of his daughter. "No, we let nature take its course. The treatment is based on the designs of the Zero System, making her able to anticipate and calculate battle strategy in the matter of seconds. The only drawback is that it acts like a drug in the body, causing symptoms of withdrawal after extended exposure. Only the strong willed have been able to survive the Zero System, and this system is 10 times more intense. Any further treatments could take us backward with her training." He paused and looked down the hallway that Relena had just exited. "Besides, I kind of like the way things are turning out. Not only will she kill Heero Yuy, but she'll go mad in the process."  
  
********************************************  
  
A/N: Whew! Well, only one more chapter and the epilogue to go. I would like to thank you all from refraining from sending me flames over cutting off Duo's hair. The next time I update this story, it will be complete! Hopefully, I'll have the last part out soon! Wishing you all a safe and happy new year! ~Loyce 


End file.
